Every day we read another story about a high school teacher
arrested for having sex with a student. Some of the students are underage, but often
they have reached the age of consent. In most jurisdictions the law does
not care. The implied power imbalance—you recall how outraged everyone was when
Bill Clinton used his power to take advantage of Monica Lewinsky—makes it that
the sex is non-consensual.
Today’s it’s Alabama teacher Carrie Witt, indicted for
having sex with two male high school students, aged 16 and 19. I see that the
Daily Mail, in reporting the story, scrubbed all references to Witt’s victims’
gender. Other newspaper reports have been less prissy.
Witt’s defense argued that the law was unconstitutional.
Yesterday, an Alabama judge agreed and dismissed the charges. He saw no
evidence that the students has been coerced in any way. Since both had reached
the age of consent, they had the right to consent to the sexual encounter freely. He found no evidence that Witt having used her position to force them to have sex. And he did not accept that a power imbalance, by itself, made the sex non-consensual.
The Daily Mail reports:
Morgan
County Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson said the court found the statute
'unconstitutional' and that there was no proof Witt used her position of
authority to force the two students to have sex.
The
judge noted that state law allows students to legally have sex at age 16, as
long as someone doesn't use their position of authority to obtain that consent.
Judge
Thompson said that position of power 'clearly does not exist between every
school employee and every student regardless of where that student is
enrolled.'
'It is
this court's finding that the law grants these students the capacity to consent
until and unless there is some showing that authority was used to obtain
illegitimate or coerced consent,' Thompson wrote in his ruling.
'If no
such position of authority is alleged, the defendant must be permitted to show
consent as a defense.'
I was BORN TOO EARLY.
ReplyDeleteCall me an old prude but I really don't care what the law says. These teachers demonstrate such poor judgment and morals. In a sane and healthy society, they would not be allowed near children. I realize that older teen boys might be a little different than say a 12 year old boy but that is where judgment should come in. Surely these young men can find someone else to have sex with.
ReplyDeleteAnd what is going on in the homes of these teachers? I always marvel at the fact that these women always seem to be married with kids. This type of behavior should be a show stopping event in these marriages.
Deana
So was I Sam.
ReplyDelete