Posted on 10/06/2010 9:27:27 AM PDT by Tom87
But do you think it’s right that this LEGO-robotics teacher was charged with a sexual crime (as opposed to simple assault)? If so, on what grounds?
And what if that man you saw spanking the boy with his pants down at Disneyland wasn’t actually the boy’s parent as ever? Would its value to onlooking children be any different?
Anyone ever did this to a child of mine they’d be thrown off a roof.
My sons will be competing this year. They didn’t take a class in robotics, though. Everything is being done at home.
i spank all my 5 like hell when need(ed) be’’but pants down in front of class just gives the enemy fodder
If this bit of the story is correct, then yes.
“...DiPalma lured the boy to his car and put him into the back seat. DiPalma then drove to the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex then climbed into the back seat with the boy. He put the boy on his lap, pulled down his pants and spanked him 20 times on his bare buttocks....”
And what if that man you saw spanking the boy with his pants down at Disneyland wasn’t actually the boy’s parent as ever? Would its value to onlooking children be any different?
It was pretty obvious from the words being spoken that he was a parent/guardian - but it probably would not have made a difference to other kids watching. The mother was there too.
It was in the 70’s and would certainly be different now.
So what specific factors in the excerpt that you cited have led you to conclude that the spanking was a sexual offense?
In any case, it’s worth considering whether the charges against DiPalma would have been different back in the 70’s.
The lego robotics teacher had the boy singled out away from others, in a secretive fashion (in the car, after hours) to spank. That is what made it sexual and not a punishment.
I don’t think that follows. Yes, DiPalma was secretive about spanking the boy, indicating that he knew he could get in trouble. But that doesn’t mean his motives were necessarily sexual—just that his actions weren’t acceptable. (If he had done this to the boy openly, would that have prevented sexual assault charges?)
One could suppose that he simply has a mean streak and therefore seized an opportunity to inflict pain on a defenseless child, who probably didn’t know that it was a crime for the teacher to spank him. An adult bully, basically, who chooses particular victims to pick on.
And then again, what if DiPalma sincerely thought the boy was a brat who needed a good ass-whipping? Even if he doesn’t have the right to give him one, just doing so make him a sexual predator?
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