age of consent, teacher relationships with students

[danielj72]

Originally Posted by Tuck's Dad

There is a power dynamic at work between a teacher and student that makes it inappropriate no matter the age of the student.

This is true. However the consequences should not be legal but professional consequences if the student is over 18. In short the teacher should lose their job not go to jail. Anyone over 18 can consent to sex legally so I don't see why it should be different under the law if a teacher is involved. If we can put a teacher in jail for sex with a student who is 18 what about a 50 year old professor dating a 40 year old student who is returning to school for a mid life career change??? Its still a teacher student relationship is it not?? Off to jail for the 50 year old?? How about a 40 year old professor and a 50 year old returning student. Does the 40 year old professor go to jail because he is a teacher??? The college student is older than him, but is he a statutory rapist??? Serious questions here.

[mainebrokerman]

if your name is bill Clinton and in an authority postion, anything goes,,,doesn't/didn't seem to matter,,,
monica , was the one shamed , the media protected Clinton ..

bill took advantage of women with his power and authority and it didn't seem to matter even if the women said it was rape or assault

[The Dark Enlightenment]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

The age of consent is one thing, using the power of authority in the case of a teacher is quite another.

If the student is of legal age it really is nobody else's business if a relationship develops with a teacher. If the student feels like the teacher is abusing his power, they have the ability to complain to school authorities and cause the teacher quite a bit of trouble. There is no reason for it to become a legal matter involving the police.

[It is 57 below zero]

Thanks for clarifying that there were usually no legal issues involved, because that earlier statement made absolutely no sense that two consenting adults could be charged with statutory rape and a sex offender. That was just plain silly.

But even still, if relationships develop based on people liking each other (usually for a good reason), why should a person be in trouble just because it's a teacher at the school? There's something I'm missing, because if two people met elsewhere, it's perfectly okay, but those _SAME_ two people meet in a school or a college, and one can get in trouble only because it's a teacher.

Name some problems in the relationship that can happen if the person was a teacher in the same school, vs. If the person was NOT a teacher, and just a regular person elsewhere. What problems does "being a teacher" add into the equation, that wouldn't likely happen in other cases, when it comes to a relationship? In other words, what can go wrong as a result of that specific type of relationship?

[arleigh]

Teachers are a role example being a direct influence on students, any students for that matter ,their life style should be above reproach ,and not an example of the scum of humanity.
When I was a scout master assistant, I had to be investigated and proven not to be a predator, and commit to behaving the rules of dealing with children by their standards.
Teachers should be under the same requirements, spending infinitely more time with the children. Probably more time than even their parents.
Also the propensity to abuse the position ,a student seeking to gain favor with sex, is a serious problem.
Even if the teacher is not that's student regular teacher, any teacher is still under the representation of morality not perversion.

[RJ312]

If both people are over the legal age, this should not be an issue.

[TristramShandy]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

For the same reason it's illegal for a prison guard to have sex with an inmate, if you are in position of authority you are compromising that if you are having sex with those you are in charge of. e.g. The teacher may offer special favors for sex, perhaps the student may blackmail the teacher.

Are you saying this just for teacher-student or are you taking this to professor-student, boss-secretary, etc?
There would be hundreds of thousands of happy marriages that would have never happened if such dichotomies were illegal.

[Annuvin]

Originally Posted by It is 57 below zero

Why is it considered a crime for a teacher to have sex with a student even within the legal age of consent? There was one case where a teacher who was about 24 years old had sex with an 18 YEAR OLD LEGAL ADULT and was charged with statutory rape, 10 years in prison, and had to register as a sex offender for LIFE, I mean, seriously.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that this occurred in a trailer park state.

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

The age of consent is one thing, using the power of authority in the case of a teacher is quite another.

Wouldn't power of authority also apply to bosses in a workplace as well? We already have sexual harassment legislation to address this, but what it the one harassed is 18? Shouldn't that also be considered statutory rape using the same logic?

[reneeh63]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

The age of consent is one thing, using the power of authority in the case of a teacher is quite another.

I agree...in most cases the judge has some discretion in sentencing which is where adjustments can be made according to the specific case. For example if the younger party was close to the age of consent or wasn't an actual student of the teacher at the time, other extenuating circumstances. That's why mandatory sentencing can be a bad idea. Either we trust judges or not...

[Phxrider]

Most teachers are closet sex offenders or they took the job to be closer to children. The concept of schools is outdated , with online colleges and a lot of online high schools, teachers could be easily replaced. The over bloated budgets for school administrators could go to things like public safety.