[kingattax]

More moral meltdown.

[Paloma_55]

"They had a consensual relationship," Assistant 15th Circuit Solicitor Karen Hanebrink said. "They considered themselves boyfriend and girlfriend."

Well... How about Man and little girl?

Question: Is it possible that a lawyer can ever recognize just what a freakin sleaze their client is?!?!??

[RedBeaconNY]

At least he owned up to his errors.

[RichInOC]

[covers face with both hands while shaking head]

Duuuuuuuuude.

I could almost understand it if the guy was twenty-something and fresh out of college. 46? He's a knucklehead.

[This Just In]

"To keep the family and the victim reliving all this in a trial, I agreed to the guilty plea."

Everyone! Please!, a round of applause for Mr. Sugar Daddy! I mean, what a sport. He was thinking about the family and his "angel"; the victim. Now, of course they had to track the fugitive down in Bali, but hey. I'm sure he was thinking about them the entire time he was on the run.

The fact is that this pervert probably couldn't find any woman who would wish to spend time with him. He has the mentality of a boy struggling through puberty(Peter Pan Syndrome), and his ulterior motives for teaching drama are quite evident.

Bought a car for a girl who wasn't even old enough to drive?! Contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Wow, this guy is a character actor. He acts like quite a character; Casanove wannabe, criminal, drama teacher, scum bag, and pervert. Multi-talented.

I'm sure when he gets out, Hollywood will embrace him with open arms. They deserve him.

[newzjunkey]

She had a consensual relationship? At 14?? With a 46-50 year old. Hello!??? Is anyone out there? What's wrong with this country's judges?

[Thinkin' Gal]

Zeltman faced up to 20 years in prison. On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty before Circuit Judge Edward Cottingham for a lesser sentence. It was about seven months after he initially was scheduled for trial. Zeltman fled to Indonesia to avoid prosecution. While there, he survived a tsunami in December but in February was tracked down by U.S. marshals in Bali.

Flees to Indonesia, only to be chased by a tsunami... get a clue, perv.

[Archidamus]

"Zeltman fled to Indonesia to avoid prosecution."

He should have fled to Los Angeles and used the name Jose Garza and bought some fake ID on the street corner and he would have blended in with all the other fakes. He was a drama teacher, so he should have been able to fake a good accent.

I don't see why they claim that the difference in age made it wrong. For much of history and in many parts of the world, a 14 year old girl would marry an old guy and have his kids. I thought women have a history of marrying young in the South.

[Conservative Infidel]

...who had a sexual relationship with a student for about a year declared his love for the girl

This never would have been prosecuted if the teacher had been female. Where is Johnny Cochran when you need him? "If it is gay, it is OK."

[sgtbono2002]

I believe we should go and find the prison sentences of all the women teachers who have had sex with 14 year old boys, find out how much time they have served and sentence this man to the Maximum time those women have served.

[cynicom]

Will there be several ladies that will demand to know where these "hottie" teachers were when they were in school?

When the roles are reversed there is a wink and a knowing nod, the culprit gets a slap on the wrist and all the hero guys feel cheated.

[SC Swamp Fox]

South Carolina Ping

Add me to the ping list. Remove me from the ping list.

[mtbopfuyn]

This is nothing new. Back in the 70's our coach began having sex with a 12 year old girl. Back then, there was no such thing as filing charges and everyone rolled their eyes. The relationship lasted for years, they eventually married when she was in her 20's, they had kids, and finally divorced. We also had a female teacher who gave, um, private instruction to the boys. Nothing was done about that situation either. I'm not condoning this, just stating all the media jumping on every incident with teachers and boy scout leaders is nothing new.

[csvset]

"She's an angel. My actions hurt my angel."

What a freak.

[snowsislander]

I noticed that a few posters mentioned that it would be possible for the pair to have married even when the girl was 14. I checked, and indeed apparently it is still South Carolina law that girls can marry at age 14 with parental consent:

Under 18: If you are under the age of 18, parental consent can be granted for boys who are at least 16 years old and for girls who are at least 14 years old. All minor applicants must file an original birth certificate or a certified copy of their birth certificate, which becomes a part of their permanent application record. The parent or legal guardian of a minor applicant must appear at the same time as the minor to present identification and sign a form consenting to the marriage.

[PistolPaknMama]

she was 14

14?? As in years old? I was 14 when I got my last baby doll for Christmas. Now 14 year olds are getting teachers? This ain't your mother's after-school activities.

[PistolPaknMama]

"[Zeltman] came to us as a family friend and promised he was helping to look out for our daughter," the girl's father said.

Any older man that is just helping to look out for your daughter is when you say "you know what, bucko? I can look after my own daughter." The kid was staying late after drama class and having sex anywhere she could. Somebody was not supervising this child and obviously the pedophile drama teacher was incompetent to do so. Nobody but idiots trusts an older man with their 14 year old daughter.

[blam]

I wonder if Zeltman got the car back?

[RobRoy]

I've been inside quite a few prisons. The horror of prison isn't prison. The horror of prison is the other inmates.