Posted on 03/21/2006 11:29:17 AM PST by Abathar
OCALA, Fla. -- A Florida judge said a plea deal for a Tampa teacher accused of having sex with a 14-year-old would "erode public confidence in" schools.
Marion County Circuit Judge Hale Stencil has rejected the plea deal for Debra Lafave, 25. The judge said the deal would undermine the credibility of the criminal justice system.
Prosecutors and the defense lawyer had urged the judge to accept the deal for the good of the boy. A psychiatrist told the judge the boy suffered extreme anxiety because of intense media coverage of the case and does not want to testify.
Lafave was charged in two counties where she's accused of having sex with the student.
A judge in Hillsborough County accepted a plea deal there in November and sentenced Lafave to three years of house arrest and seven years' probation. She pleaded guilty in November to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery for having sex with the boy in a classroom and her home.
you know, be it boys or girls, it IS going to come down to MORALITY when all is said and done, isn't it?
Assuming no one was caught or got knocked up, why would a girl regret a fling with a hot hs teacher and a boy wouldn't? She might also look back on her hs yearbook and get a smile fondly remembering when.
Didn't you have any teachers married to their former students in your high school? Don't think this is that uncommon. But its the age that's the problem. In most states a 16 year old can give consent and a 14 year old can't.
If someone molested either one of my children,
male or female at 14,
I'd be in jail for beating them to death.
Either there is a line,
or there isn't.
Either all kids are precious,
or we let them all go.
Either we treat them the same,
or we give them (and their predators) twisted, mixed messages that will screw up their lives.
Agreed. But the point here is that this kid is far less victimized than a 14-year-old girl would be.
Mostly, his victimization is that he's going to spend the remainder of his high school career with a s**t-eating grin.
You really don't know guys. Guys brag about things to each other that they would never tell their wives. Not to say it's right or wrong, just that you are really out of your league in discussing guys's states of mind.
HIS age does matter --- with a little age (in most) comes self control, the opportunity to learn.
Basically, with age, he was less likely to say "yes" to her advances.
He's barely at the age of accountability.
I'd much rather imagine the 14 year-old boy is me.....
Which probably explains most of the male reaction to this.
Simple. He'll probably go to his grave fondly remembering how he made it with a hot chick at age 14. His only regret is likely to be the dry spell following her arrest. Whatever he does or doesn't say in public, he is unlikely ever to consider himself a victim.
However, whether he ever realizes it or not, he is. Not just because he now has that sin on his record, but more importantly because the experience reinforces what is bad, and weakens what is good in a man. Where many of us fantasized about sex with a teacher, he remembers it. When faced with sexual temptation in the future, he's more likely to give in. If he ever sits on a jury for a teacher who diddles her students, he'll wonder what the fuss is about. His own moral upbringing as a man of integrity has been undermined, and the nation is that much poorer.
Meanwhile, he probably won't give any of that a thought, as memories of Ms. LaFave comfort him some cold night, alone with his right hand.
Isnt' it weird how these guys know what we girls were thinking when we were 14?
That very well might be a fact. I don't really know for sure, though.
Cordially,
No, but 14 year old boys can get STD's.....
And also 14 year old boys can get warped ideas on what is "acceptable" behaviour.
FWIW-
I have had 2 friends in similar circumstances -- one was a camp counsellor, the other was a neighbor.
And in neither cases did there seem to be any lasting problems.
My personal take on this is that 14 year old boys *used* to be able to engage in this behavior. Then, to protect 14 year old girls from being victiized, we just used a blanket age.
But boys and girls are *very* different. And a 14 year old boy having sex with an older woman is not a *victim* by virtue of age alone. Something that is not true of a 14 year old girl.
I believe the standard is...it depends upon whether she's not or not.
Because when a girl has sex, her emotions are involved. Not so with boys.
lol
Is it something he would be proud to disclose to her, or is it something he would be ashamed of? You really don't know guys. Guys brag about things to each other that they would never tell their wives. Not to say it's right or wrong, just that you are really out of your league in discussing guys's states of mind.
And his mom, sure.
Women don't typically understand male sexuality. Women will be all up in arms about this, and will be offended by the 'typical' male take on this as "this kid was just lucky".
But boys and girls are different, and in my opinion this kid was not a victim.
5 bucks she's been kicking her own butt for not having the forsight to have sex with a kid in Vermont instead of Florida....
As an ex-druggie,I WILL speak from experience.
I DO remember my highs fondly but I wish today I had never touched any of that s---.It was a complete and utter waste of time and health and illegal on top of that.
And I've done my share of screwing around too,you can believe that.Remember those"pieces"fondly also but here I am 58 years old and as alienated and without a clue about woman as I was in Seventh Grade!
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