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| Posted By |
n/a on 6/10/2008 1:10:32 PM |
| Subject: |
RE: Female teacher sex offenders |
| Message: |
What I find particularly notable is the gross discrepancy in sentences imposed for the dozens of women listed on that page. Depending on where they're tried, they get anything from a year of probation to many years in prison for the same offenses. And while it may seem sexist, I've gotta admit that from the photos of the "offenders" posted there, there are almost none who would leave me feeling traumatized or like a victim had I had a relationship with them at fifteen or sixteen. I think the word we would have used is "lucky"...
The real issue that doesn't come up when it comes to status crimes is the inconsistency between presuming that a 16-year-old is too immature to give valid consent to a sexual relationship, and presuming that 13 and 14-year-olds are mature enough to be tried as adults when they commit crimes. We can't logically have it both ways at the same time. And anyone who thinks that childhood and early teen years are a time of innocence needs to put away the rose-colored glasses and take a look at the movies and videos kids are watching, read the lyrics to the rap and music to which they listen, and explore the video games they play...
Yes, it's inappropriate for a teacher to have any sort of personal relationship with a student, but that's because of the fact that they need to have a student-teacher relationship and not just because there's an age difference. [Note: I'm talking about high school students; not younger kids...] And it ought to be resolved in relation to the employment status of the teacher, not through the criminal justice system, just as a business employee who is rude to customers or who refuses to follow procedures is dealt with by firing; not by prosecution. |
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