Psychoward
Banned
She wasn't charged with rape though, she was charged with exploiting her position of authority.
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'I'm the victim,' says teacher who had sex with high school student
- Thread starter Syriel
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Wolf Akela
Member
Is it statutory rape if two underage people (say both are 16) have sex? What if they've been together for 3 years, then one of them turns 18 first. Is it still statutory rape until the other turns 18 despite history?
No. You're forgetting age of consent.
It's different state to state, but in a lot of places, it's 16 and 17. A couple of states have it at 15 still, I believe.
Beer Monkey
Member
There's also "Romeo and Juliet" clauses in a lot of these state laws that make exceptions. For example, in Iowa (where this happened), females (?) can consent at age 14 instead of 16 as long as the other person is no more than five years older.
Eh, 17yos can give consent, and this isn't actually the case "power dynamics" laws are meant to be applied to, but the law is the law, and weakening the "power dynamics" laws is a bad idea.
So, yeah. Actually a victim, of a law technicality. She should've damn known better though.
So, yeah. Actually a victim, of a law technicality. She should've damn known better though.
Amibguous Cad
Member
There was a more detailed article I found on tumblr that googling about doesn't reveal. I'll understand if you guys are skeptical, though I do hope you at least do your due dilligence.
The linked article is short on details but they do eventually give some of the exculpatory facts. The penultimate paragraph reports on the blackmail, where no one will read it, and they significantly underplay it, but it's there.
I sincerely hope you get forced into survival sex work after an abusive partner ruins your career.
It's the natural extension of people who view sexuality through a lens where men are predators and women are prey.
That lens needs to be shattered.
Ken K in the Fresh!!!
Member
Wonder if the teen had a 'dropped the mic' moment in his head when he sent that avocado response
I sort of mentioned it earlier, but it's against the law for teachers to have sex with 18 year old students in Iowa as well.
This is an abuse of power charge, not an age of consent charge.
If that expanded story posted a few posts up is true, I do feel sympathetic for her. However, as a teacher, you shouldn't be sleeping with high school students at any school/district. Being over the age of consent doesn't matter. I know that teachers have been disciplined/fired for doing that in Ontario.
I won't speak to criminal charges, especially if the story is unclear, but she most definitely deserved to lose her job and teaching license.
This is an abuse of power charge, not an age of consent charge.
If that expanded story posted a few posts up is true, I do feel sympathetic for her. However, as a teacher, you shouldn't be sleeping with high school students at any school/district. Being over the age of consent doesn't matter. I know that teachers have been disciplined/fired for doing that in Ontario.
I won't speak to criminal charges, especially if the story is unclear, but she most definitely deserved to lose her job and teaching license.
Amibguous Cad
Member
Not, as far as I know, if you're not in their district.
If that is the letter of the law, it's honestly pretty absurd.
And even if you don't buy that, enabling an abuser and forcing her into survival sex work is nowhere near a proportionate response.
Considering he was 17 and she 23 that seems fair to me
So...post it?
I think you're referring to the antepenultimate paragraph in which the student reportedly says that he will "burn down her life" if she breaks up with him. Is this condemnable in this type of a relationship with a clearly imbalanced power dynamic? Is it unreasonable to think that if the genders were reversed, the female student may say something similar? I'm not sure how this proves that the teacher was the victim in this situation.
Have a source for those claims? Because multiple news stories claim they first met when she was working in his school.
NY Daily News said:
And things progressed once she started subbing in his class.
NY Daily News said:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/iowa-sex-student-victim-article-1.2838121
The only report of the threat seems to be her quote from the show. Claiming she continued the relationship because she was afraid it would be revealed (and ruin her life) kinda proves she knew it was wrong.
It was other students seeing her and the teen having sex in her car at the park and reporting it that ruined her career.
Trying to blame her decision to start a relationship with a student on said student is a textbook case of victim blaming.
Amibguous Cad
Member
I can't find the tumblr article, and honestly, if you can't be arsed to go check the linked article it's not my responsibility to educate you.
Yeah, that's what I was referring to. That's what I mean about them downplaying it; in the other article he's quite explicit that he means reporting her and ending her career... which might be appropriate if he were trying to end things, but he was doing it to force her to stay. If you don't think that's blackmail, it's not my job to walk you through the model penal code one line at a time.
There was a power imbalance, yes. Benefiting the person that had the power to blackmail one party and threaten her career. Not the teacher that was working twenty miles away until he blackmailed her.
Think I'm done here. Enjoy living in a world where blackmail is okay if you're young enough.
Maximus.
Member
She's not the victim. She knew what position she was in with a student and knew the age differences. Her current career choice switch may be an indication of her maturity. I mean yes it does suck to have such a negative image, but she made that choice by taking that risk and got off lucky in court.
MrToughPants
Brian Burke punched my mom
How was she forced?
as much as i love to play the 'it's not my job to educate you!!!' card all the fucking time, if you post shit, the onus is on you to provide a source, not to make others go digging for it. learn to post.
The onus will always be on you to provide citations when saying stuff that isn't included in the reports on the story. That's a ongoing thing all over this forum; you are better off not posting in the first place if that bothers you.
tkscz
Member
Correct. If they are older than 18 having sex with a minor, it's still consider statutory in most US states. Some states let it slide if they are 16 and have parent permission, most states do not.
Wow, that escalated incredibly quick.
Beer Monkey
Member
That's not true, the most common age of consent in the USA is 16, period. Including in Iowa, where this happened. Age was not a factor in this case.
The power imbalance you're talking about only came about because the teacher, while in a position of power, acted unwisely and exploited her advantageous position. No teacher should enter into a relationship with a student unless they're prepared to take public responsibility for the relationship. She entered into a relationship with a student with full knowledge of the consequences. The teacher's irresponsibility lead to the situation where the student had the power to leverage her into staying in the relationship. Now I would also characterize that as psychological abuse, and thus blaming the continuing relationship on her is no good. Still, what she ideally would have done there was take the high road, break off the relationship and face any comeuppance. While it's understandably very difficult for an abused person to do that, that's what a capable authority figure would do. Instead she continued to lie. I wouldn't wish the psychological abuse and stress she faced on anybody but that fact remains that she broke the law and appears unfit to be in a position of power based on her actions.
I also don't think anybody is saying she should be forced into sex work as a result. It is possible to recognize her actions as misguided and have a distaste for how difficult it is in American society for those charged with crimes to obtain viable work.
Hippo_PRIME
Member
Before switching majors, I was in a Teacher Education program in college. One of the things they emphasized over and over to us, in several classes, was to never get romantically involved with students, regardless of age or legality. It was drilled into us that relationships with students, beyond putting your career at risk, was an ethical violation in the practice. I ended up pursuing a different subject, but I can't imagine the later classes changed this message to, "Lol jk, get with students all you want."
If the allegations of the student threatening blackmail are true, that certainly adds some important context to this scenario. However, the teacher still made the conscious decision to violate the ethics of her field when she willfully entered into a relationship with the student. She is, at the very least, culpable for that ethics breach.
If the allegations of the student threatening blackmail are true, that certainly adds some important context to this scenario. However, the teacher still made the conscious decision to violate the ethics of her field when she willfully entered into a relationship with the student. She is, at the very least, culpable for that ethics breach.
I know what you mean. I saw that episode of SVU where the 30 something girl kept moving from school to school pretending to be a high school student having sex with the boys too.
The Faceless Master
Member
Teachers shouldn't have sex with Students. PERIOD.
even if he was a 23 year old who failed a few grades and she was a 21 year old fresh out of college teacher.
even if he was a 23 year old who failed a few grades and she was a 21 year old fresh out of college teacher.
Incandenza
Banned
guys please explain the avocado thing i am begging you
John Kowalski
Banned
What the hell was she doing on Dr. Phil? Goddamn. Going on Dr. Phil. That's, like, never a good idea, EVER.
grandjedi6
Master of the Google Search
It's horrible but this story has had plenty of plot twists to it:
She absolutely committed a crime and should be punished appropriately. But the girl obviously has something wrong with her and is doing whatever she can to get more and more attention. I can't imagine the dark spiral her life is about to go in when the national media gets bored of her and she stops getting the attention she craves.
But again, it's pretty much all self inflicted. Teachers shouldn't get involved with their students no matter the age differences.
- The school tried to cover it up which got the Principal and others fired.
- Because they tried covering it up, the school's hiring department was unaware and ended up rehiring her as an Elementary substitute teacher for a while
- She ended up turning herself in and telling the local news about it on her own initiative. Also her general demeanor and how she dressed up for it made it seem that she was rather excited for it.
- She then got hired by the local strip club as Bambi, where I hear she's been rather popular
- She got thrown back in jail for a bit for violating her no contact order by meeting the student at said local strip club
- She sent Inside Edition sexy pics of herself that she had sent to the kid on her own volition.
- Her story has been getting more and more elaborate (and crazy) as bigger press outlets talk to her
- And now she's on Dr. Phil
She absolutely committed a crime and should be punished appropriately. But the girl obviously has something wrong with her and is doing whatever she can to get more and more attention. I can't imagine the dark spiral her life is about to go in when the national media gets bored of her and she stops getting the attention she craves.
But again, it's pretty much all self inflicted. Teachers shouldn't get involved with their students no matter the age differences.
"You're a peach" is a common expression of someone being nice. It's swung around as a compliment and no one questions it but you'd never say it to someone you'd fuck. It's borderline condescending like "sweety."
He took the expression and turned it around. Like basically "bitch, don't count me out."
DiipuSurotu
Banned
Wow
Beer Monkey
Member
The kid knows how to play romeo.
What? So it's perfectly fine for teachers to hook up with students in Britain?
teruterubozu
Member
Dude is smooth
"Avocado"
Modern day Cyrano there
Y'all got it wrong. It's the teacher who's smooth. "Awwwwwwww" is very strategic. Man you guys have a lot to learn.
FantasticMrSnake
Member
Henry Jones Jr
Member
This happened in my hometown and I never heard about it! Weird. Not the HS I went to though.
"I'm the victim" is a weird way to handle this. Maybe she is trying to spin this off into some kind of a D list celebrity reality show career.
"I'm the victim" is a weird way to handle this. Maybe she is trying to spin this off into some kind of a D list celebrity reality show career.
Let's swap the gender roles for one second here, with an adult male teacher having sex with an underage female. Would you feel the same way then? What if it was your daughter? I imagine you'd want to kill the guy who had sex with her. So why should it be any different if the pervert in this case is a female teacher? It's not a case of girls will be girls. She's an adult. He's a child. Age was most definitely a factor.
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