Today was a big news day for Tallahassee. There were at least three news stories on the front page of the Tallahassee Democrat that were interesting. This report will focus on the one headlined “Leon County Sheriff’s Office details text messages sent by teacher, student”.
Here’s the situation. A 24 year-old female high school teacher here was arrested this past Wednesday for allegedly having sex with a 17 year-old male student, on one occasion on a school trip to Orlando. This gives new meaning to the word “chaperone”. The charges against her are 1) Computer pornography (due to the nature of the text messages, although the paper did not print the really explicit stuff), and 2) Traveling to meet a minor, both of which are felonies.
I have several comments about this situation. First let’s start with some of the text messages the paper did print. One from her to him says: “Thanks babe, I love you too and I’m glad I seen you last night 
“. From this we know that whatever she was teaching, it wasn’t grammar.
After another text from her that says “I want to kiss you right now”, he responds, “me too I want to make love right now”. Well of course you do! You’re a 17 year-old boy. You want to “make love” (like you have a clue what that means) right now, and again 30 seconds from now, and again 30 seconds after that. You have all the finesse of a rabbit. It’s a wonder you can concentrate enough on the rest of your life to tie your own shoelaces.
Which brings me to one of my major points. What mature, adult woman would even want to have sex with a 17 year-old boy? Oh wait. I maybe just answered my own question. But seriously, the last time I thought a 17 year-old was sexy, if I ever did, I for sure wasn’t more than 14.
However, here is my other major point. I guess in the interest of fairness, if we’re going to call adult males predators for having sex with minor females, then we have to do the same for women. But it feels different to me somehow. I can’t quite nail down why. But regardless, part of it is I think it’s the age that bothers me. 17 is in the category I call “old enough”.
Not to get too deeply into the realm of Too Much Information here, but I was 17 when I first had sex, and the guy (you know, Old Whatshisname) was 21. I don’t think either of us knew we were breaking the law, I certainly didn’t. But I was certainly old enough to make the decision. Of course there are huge differences.
I was a college freshman by that time. He was a college senior. He was not a teacher, not a person who had a position of responsibility toward me. That in the end, is what really makes this wrong on this teacher’s part. Not to mention she’s pathetic.
For the full story: http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090619/NEWS01/906190328/LCSO-details-text-messages-sent-by-teacher–student&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL
