[Colofornian]

Salt Lake Trib headline from 5 months ago: Sexual misconduct persistent in Utah schools

Excerpt from that Oct 2009 article: ... sexual misconduct by teachers -- from inappropriate touching and downloading pornography on a school computer to full-blown molestation -- is a persistent and pervasive problem. It is the No. 1 reason Utah educators are forced to surrender their licenses. And the tools for preventing it haven't evolved much over the years. "I talk about it every chance I get, at trainings, lectures and an education law class I teach," said Carol Lear, the state's top education lawyer. "The whole cell phone thing, texting and social networking. The landscape has just become increasingly complicated and sophisticated." ...since 1992, the State Board of Education has suspended or revoked 313 teacher licenses, 208 of them (66 percent) for sexual misconduct. That doesn't include 10 cases under consideration before the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission. In 2005, Utah ranked 16th in the nation for teacher sex offenses, according to an Associated Press survey of disciplinary records from 2001 to 2005 in 50 states and the District of Columbia. At that time, 52.7 percent of Utah teachers who lost their licenses surrendered them for sexual misconduct -- twice the national rate, the AP found. (Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 24, 2009)

Some of those 10 cases under consideration before the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission at the time of that October article (as quoted from that sake Trib article):
Oct. 15 » Kenneth William Taylor, 45, a wood shop teacher at Roy Junior High School, is charged with developing a relationship with a 14- or 15-year-old student, which turned sexual when she was 16.
Oct. 13 » John Robert Cody, 39, a social studies teacher at Pineview High School in St. George, is alleged to have fondled two girls and a woman at his apartment complex pool in 2008.
Sept. 29 » Keith Gillins, 61, a long-time teacher, boys basketball coach, former Fillmore mayor and an LDS bishop, is sentenced to up to life in prison for the alleged sexual abuse of a 16-year-old student in the back of his classroom.
Sept. 8 » Douglas Bullock, 42, a teacher at Bloomington Hills Elementary in St. George, is charged with 12 counts of third-degree felony unlawful sex with a minor for an alleged relationship with a 17-year-old boy.
Sept. 7 » Matthew Scott Adams, 31, a shop teacher at Cedar Middle School in Cedar City, is sentenced to one year in the Iron County Jail for allegedly videotaping young women through their windows. Some of the victims were students where he taught.
Aug. 25 » Churchill Junior High substitute teacher Christopher Benjamin Page, 20, of Salt Lake City, pleads guilty to one count of forcible sexual abuse after Sandy police find him and a 13-year-old female student both shirtless in a parked car.
Aug. 17 » Melissa Ann Andreini, 28, a former special education teacher at Helper Junior High School, is charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor stemming from an alleged relationship with a 15-year-old student. She allegedly paid the victim between $1,400 and $1,500 after the encounters.

[DTogo]

With a make-over, maybe probation...

[svcw]

WTH?
So many people we allow to be in charge of our kids, when we can not........abuse that power.
But what is up with Utah and these abusers. The number one reason these people lose their license, sexual abuse. Good grief.

[GeronL]

Kevin Jennings and tax funded Planned Parenthood and tax funded Sex Positive which holds pro-sex seminars at schools “don’t tell your parents” and the Girl Scouts are all part of the movement along with the media to normalize sex with kids.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

“Billingsley then sent more pictures of her breasts to the friend’s cell phone, the teens claimed. “

If this claim were true, wouldn’t there be phone records?

[ETL]

Not to worry. Obama's "Safe School Czar" is on the job!

Obama's "Safe School Czar" Kevin
"use a condom" Jennings
__________________________________________________________

From the Washington Times...

EDITORIAL: At the president's pleasure
'Safe school czar' encouraged child sex with an older man
September 28, 2009

A teacher was told by a 15-year-old high school sophomore that he was having homosexual sex with an "older man." At the very least, statutory rape occurred. Fox News reported that the teacher violated a state law requiring that he report the abuse. That former teacher, Kevin Jennings, is President Obama's "safe school czar". It's getting hard to keep track of all of this president's problematic appointments. Clearly, the process for vetting White House employees has broken down.

In this one case in which Mr. Jennings had a real chance to protect a young boy from a sexual predator, he not only failed to do what the law required but actually encouraged the relationship.

According to Mr. Jennings' own description in a new audiotape discovered by Fox News, the 15-year-old boy met the "older man" in a "bus station bathroom" and was taken to the older man's home that night. When some details about the case became public, Mr. Jennings threatened to sue another teacher who called his failure to report the statutory rape "unethical." Mr. Jennings' defenders asserted that there was no evidence that he was aware the student had sex with the older man.

However, the new audiotape contradicts this claim. In 2000, Mr. Jennings gave a talk to the Iowa chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, an advocacy group that promotes homosexuality in schools. On the tape, Mr. Jennings recollected that he told the student to make sure "to use a condom" when he was with the older man. That he actively encouraged the relationship is reinforced by Mr. Jennings' own description in his 1994 book, "One Teacher in 10." In that account, the teacher boasts how he allayed the student's concerns about the relationship to such a degree that the 15-year-old "left my office with a smile on his face that I would see every time I saw him on the campus for the next two years, until he graduated."

Mr. Jennings' denials about these events reveal a lack of remorse. He has not admitted that he made mistakes in this case, and he now refuses to answer any questions about the scandal. Don't forget, this is a presidential appointee we're talking about. Mr. Obama should make clear what his standards are for public servants serving at the pleasure of the president. Encouraging and covering up man-boy sexual activity are serious offenses. The White House should force Mr. Jennings to come clean.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/28/at-the-presidents-pleasure/

[TChris]

Wow.

Another female teacher/sex offender. It's a disgusting trend that needs to be stopped!

I wonder how a school district could effectively weed these perverts out before hiring them?

If she's guilty, and it certainly looks that way, lock her up for a long time.

[SoftballMominVA]

This one should be fairly easy to prove - it won’t take much for a cell phone company to pull up records of all the parties involved.

That seems to me to be a central part of the accusation - no pics, no record of phone calls between the woman and the boys, then the rest of the story falls apart. Cell phone records and pics? Yeah, she’s a hoe-bag

It’d be nice if a reporter could be bothered to find out if the pics even exist before reporting such a story, because
I’m sure two boys in and out of detention would never make up a story to hurt a teacher would they?

Nah.....

[OldPossum]

Ah, the progressives are making inroads as they corrupt minors right and left.

[Mich Patriot]

Okay, someone has to be the creep here, so allow me.

Where the hell were all these panther/teacher types when I was in HS???

[agere_contra]

In 2005, Utah ranked 16th in the nation for teacher sex offenses, according to an Associated Press survey of disciplinary records from 2001 to 2005 in 50 states and the District of Columbia. At that time, 52.7 percent of Utah teachers who lost their licenses surrendered them for sexual misconduct -- twice the national rate

Good post. Sounds like Utah either has a much higher rate of punishment for this crime than other states, or it takes a lot to lose a license there.

[WinMod70]

It seems like rarely a week goes by without some report of a teacher screwing around with students. How many of these pervs haven’t been caught yet? Doesn’t at least one of the professors in the teaching colleges mention something like “oh yeah, just in case you didn’t know it’s not alright to screw students”?

Since the HC reconcillation is the hot topic, how about one of the GOP senators offer an amendment to make these offenses a federal crime; 20 year min. sentence. Let the libs defend not voting to protect the “childrens”.

[Choose Ye This Day]

Seems like it is persistent everywhere:

“Sexual abuse of students is the No. 1 reason public school teachers have lost their licenses in West Virginia during the past five years.”
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2005_07_12/2005_10_17_AP_AbuseIs.htm

“A nationwide Associated Press investigation published in October found 2,570 educators whose teaching credentials were revoked, denied, surrendered or sanctioned from 2001 through 2005 following allegations of sexual misconduct.”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,325877,00.html

“Teachers are increasingly losing their teaching certificates or having their applications for permanent certification denied over sexual misconduct with students. Statewide [New York], misconduct cases against teachers, coaches, administrators and aides are surfacing at a rate of more than one every two days of school. They include theft, cheating and fraud. But most involve inappropriate relationships, pornography, and - often - sex.”
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2007/10/21/news/state/state01.txt

“According to a major 2004 study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education – the most in-depth investigation to date – nearly 10 percent of U.S. public school students have been targeted with unwanted sexual attention by school employees.”
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49389

[Elsie]

Where were these ‘teachers’ when I went to school?

[240B]

Anywhere adult and children come together, church, school, summer camp, et al there is potential for this to happen.

Some 14/15 can be very sexually aggressive. However that is not the point. The adult should have enough common sense not to partake if for no other reason than it is stupid to trust a child to keep a secret. It will almost certainly come out eventually.

I always wonder if people who are innately attracted to children put themselves in professions involving children.