Posted on 04/15/2006 9:11:30 AM PDT by connectthedots
Whatver the reasons, the matter was handled well, and the punishment was appropriate.
If the age of consent isn't universal then it should be changed.
Yes it is, before we had the Internet and instant access to all this stuff most schools would call everyone in and leave it up to the kids parents if they wanted to prosecute or not.
Most parents and the kids didn't want it to go public so the teacher would agree to quit and walk away and everything was kept hush hush. Now since no one is allowed to make decisions anymore and there is zero tolerance rules in place most schools administrators just turn it over to the D.A. regardless of what the parents and student feel.
My mom worked for the school system for many years, several teachers were let go because they just couldn't be trusted around the young girls, word gets around the school about them and the teachers listened, they knew who was shopping and who was not.
You are right. He coached at Warner Pacific the year before and took the Prairie Job because he also got a teaching position.
How many boys vollyball teams do you know of?
You could be right that the age of consent should be universal but it varies by state. In Wasgington state the sexual age of consent is 18.
However, even had she been 18, it wouldn't have mattered from the standpoint of being morally wrong for a high school student and one of their teachers having a sexual affair.
It would also not have altered the fact that he be fired and lose his teaching certificate because of school policies.
I totally disagree with you. You don't know that it "hasn't always been the case that those in a position of authority over minors are so lacking in basic morality"... What makes you think people 30 years ago weren't doing the exact same thing, OR WORSE. 30 years ago people didn't talk about these things. They were swept under the rug, hushed up, and nothing was ever said/done about them. Plus, in today's internet age, we have the ability to hear about everything, everywhere, all the time. 30 years ago, you were lucky to hear your local evening news on television - not the nationwide or worldwide news of this sort of thing.
It's a myth that there is "more" if this kind of thing today than in the past. Remember, back in the Oregon Trail Days, it was perfectly acceptable to marry and have sex with a 13-yr old. This kind of thing has been happening since the dawn of time.
I agree with you on the matter of adultery and that as an auhtority figure, the coach shouldn't be involved with a player.
On the other hand, I don't know what the age of consent is in Washington. Unless it's 18, this was statutory rape.
Further, if this were outside of a school, would it really matter that much? This coach is just 31. If this had occurred with a 19 or 20 year old, big deal? You see it all the time with college students. It's not like this girl was a naive 14-year old or something.
Boys mature slower than girls, and I think it's natural for girls to gravitate to a slightly more mature guy.
The whole situation is a shame. It will affect both of them for years to come, IMO. At least it was taken care of promptly instead of dragging out for six months to a year.
They both used very poor judgement but the blame falls entirely on the coach. He definitely should have known better.
WASHINGTON 18 A person 16 or 17 may consent to sexual activity with a person not more than 59 months (4 years 11 months) older. For example it is illegal for a 21 year old to have sex with a 16 year old; it is illegal for a 22 year old to have sex with a 17 year old. Also it is illegal for any school employee to have consensual sexual contact with a student between age 16 and high school graduation, so age 16 does not apply to school employees.
Bzzzt. Wrong answer, chickee. She did know the guy was married , right? Perhaps she's just parsing words.
She is capable, yet she chose to do it anyways.
"I got caught up in the moment,"
Let's parse that line.
Yeah, the next thing I knew, I was banging some teenager. It wasn't until later that I recalled that I was married.
Loser.
[Why should a minor be capable of having sex with a 19 year old rapist or adults in power posistion while being forbidden to have sex with a teacher?]
IMO, because a parent puts their trust in that teacher they turn their children over to for 6 to 8 hours a day. That may be an over simplification but I believe a very realistic one.
While I genrally agree, I think the girl in this case bears some moral responsibility, even if she has no legal responsibility. A three month sentence by the judge supports my position. Judge Lewis is the best judge on the superiuor Court bench. All the others are corrupt.
I think the girl;s comments were an honest acknowledgement that she was no innocent 'victim'.
I completely agree that she shares some moral responsibility and I'm sure you're correct that this did affect the Judges sentence.
The victim, in her remarks to Lewis, said she's angry and embarrassed, but does not consider herself a victim.
"In no way did Tom Russell manipulate me," she said, her hands shaking.
She's 17, she told Lewis.
"I'm fully capable of distinguishing from right and wrong
The victim, in her remarks to Lewis, said she's angry and embarrassed, but does not consider herself a victim.
"In no way did Tom Russell manipulate me," she said, her hands shaking.
She's 17, she told Lewis.
"I'm fully capable of distinguishing from right and wrong."
Fat chicks and guys wih beards hate this thread.
Exactly. As if a 17 yr old has no idea. Certainly the coach is wrong and at fault, but we shouldn't be encouraging our daughters to flirt with their teachers.
The idea that she shouldn't take responsibility for the situation is the height of foolishness.
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