Why
do so many teachers target young boys and girls for sex?
If you click your
mouse on the underlined words, you will get more information
There is a vast number of female
teachers having illicit sex with students than male teachers committing that
crime however there have been instances in which male teachers have also sexually
molested their students.
A 26-year-old
married, successful science teacher was arrested in Florida after she had sex
with a 14-year-old student.
A former Arizona teacher
avoided the maximum sentence for sexually abusing a 13-year-old student,
telling the court that she is “not a threat to society by any means.” Brittany
Zamora was slapped with a 20-year prison term in Maricopa County Superior,
Court by avoiding the 27-year sentence that prosecutors had asked for as part
of a plea agreement .
Prosecutors say the 28-year-old
Zamora had multiple sexual encounters with the boy in a classroom at Las Brisas
Academy in Goodyear and in her vehicle. Some contact between Zamora and the
sixth-grader took place during class while other students were watching a video
rlssewhere.
A second boy, age 11, had seen
her having sex with the student, according to investigators. Authorities said
that Zamora showed naked photos to both boys and asked them sexual questions.
The 13-year-old student’s
parents called Zamora a “twisted monster” in a statement read by their lawyer.
“He will miss out on so many
important emotions and feelings when it comes to relationships with women for
the rest of his life all because his trust was betrayed by his sixth-grade
school teacher,” the parents wrote.
Zamora apologized in court and
maintained she is not a threat to the community. “I’m a good genuine person who
made a mistake and regrets it deeply,” she added.
Defense lawyer Belen
Olmedo Guerra said his client is a “great candidate” for rehabilitation.“She
wants to change her life and she’s already started that,” Guerra said.
Zamora could have faced
40 years in prison for having sexual conduct with a minor, attempted child
molestation and public sexual indecency. She will be on probation for the rest
of her life and she will have to register as a sex offender. Needless to say,
she won’t be a school teacher again when she is released.
A teacher at an elite South African
private boys’ school was found to have “engaged in sexual misconduct” with
several students, according to a police investigation.
Fiona
Viotti, a 32-year-old history teacher at Bishops Diocesan College in
Rondebosch, Cape Town, was allegedly involved in a sexual relationship with an
18-year-old student who wanted to end it.
While employed as a teacher
during the period 2013 to 2019, investigators determined she had engaged in
sexual misconduct with at least five pupils. It was determined she acted in
breach of the Bishops Code of Professional Conduct for Teaching Staff and the
Code of Professional Ethics issued by the South African Council of Educators.
In one case, , the former model
resigned from the school as a full-scale investigation got underway following
the release of and discovery of unauthorized pornography.
News24 reported that an explicit video
purportedly of Viotti also the water polo coach performing explicit sex acts
was pulled from a free pornographic website in October.
The teacher’s attorney,
William Booth, said he and his client were “quite happy that the video has been
officially removed and that’s positive. However, we are continuing with our
investigations to establish who posted it.”
The lawyer also took
umbrage to Viotti’s family members being dragged into the drama. Her uncle's
name was publicized in the media. The man had nothing whatsoever to do with the
case and what happened to him was unfair. He is a well-known public figure and
we will be taking legal action soon," Booth said.
Former South African
national rugby player Nick Mallet is the brother of Viotti’s father Dave
Mallett, also a teacher at Bishops, who coaches its first XV rugby team. Her
grandfather was a former headmaster at the school.
In South Africa, the
legal age of consent is 16. For this reason no
criminal charges were
filed against Viotta. However, she won’t be teaching again in South Africa.
Stephanie Peterson, sent nude
photos and also sold the teenage boy marijuana, and was charged with two counts
of lewd or lascivious battery and one count of transmission of harmful
materials to a minor.
A former Texas high school
teacher, Alexandria Vera, who was impregnated by a 13-year-old but had an
abortion, got a 10 year sentence after pleading guilty to having sex on
multiple occasions with the teenager.
In
1996, the then 34-year-old Seattle primary school teacher was arrested for having sex with her 12-year-old student,
In such a case, the Plaintiffs were four boys who were sexually abused by
their fourth grade teacher. The perpetrator-teacher (a male) taught at the
School District from 1997-1999. During that time, he molested two of the
plaintiffs who were in his fourth grade class.
The teacher then left the
school district in June 1999 and gained employment at another school district
in September. In January 2000, several boys in his fourth grade class
complained of improper touching by the teacher.
The Sheriff’s Department investigated the teacher and
ultimately arrested him for child sexual abuse. In 2002, he was convicted and
sentenced to 24 years in prison.
Plaintiffs pursued two theories against the defendant
School District. First, as to the two boys who were students within the
District, plaintiffs contended that the District was negligent in its
supervision and retention of the teacher. The District and the elementary
school principal received many complaints about inappropriate behavior by the
teacher, including repeated instances of him being in his classroom with the
door closed with a single boy.
The District reached a
secret deal with the teacher. If he
resigned quietly, the District would provide him with a glowing letter of recommendation
and positive verbal recommendations.
The teacher used the false
recommendations to gain employment at another school district, where he
sexually abused four other plaintiffs, who were boys in his class.
Teachers are in a position of authority and
trust to foster the intellectual development of their students. When they
engage in sexual relations with a student, they violate that trust implicitly
in a professional teacher-student relationship. When students arrive at college to
begin their academic journey the relationship between teacher and student
shifts from the high school model. Faculty and staff have a code of conduct
that they must adhere to. Here is a look at the landscape of sexual relations
in college as they apply to faculty, staff, and students.
Every
college ( University ) has a sexual harassment policy in place that
makes it clear to faculty that sexual harassment, misconduct, and/or abuse
clearly violates the expected standards of campus conduct. In addition, many
schools have policies that ban undergraduate student-faculty relationships,
even when both parties consent, for a number of different reasons.
As
advisers, teachers, and mentors, faculty members may be among the most trusted
adults in a student’s life. Often a student will invest a deep and respectful
trust in a faculty member and if that faculty member responds in a sexually
inappropriate way, it violates that trust, it is confusing, and it can often be
a traumatic experience to the student.
A
faculty member automatically holds a position of power over his/her students.
Grades are the measuring rod of academia. A faculty member who uses the
enticement of a raised grade or the threat of a lowered grade to make a sexual
advance is abusing his/her power and violating college sexual harassment
policy.
The
most commonly expressed concern is over whether "mutual consent" can
exist in a student-faculty relationship where there is such a disparity in
power between the people involved. Remember that consent should be an enthusiastic
and informed yes with no condition included.
When
sexual relationships between professors and students are permitted, it can
sometimes be more difficult to recognize or report sexual harassment. Unwanted
sexual advances by anyone, particularly someone in a position of power, can be
intimidating or even frightening, which may impact whether or not a survivor
feels comfortable reporting what has happened.
If a
faculty member says or does something that is unwanted, unwelcome, and/or
uncomfortable, it can be reported. The chain of command begins with the
student's faculty advisor and department chair. They should be trained in
how to follow the college policy in sexual harassment and assaults. Students
can also connect with additional resources both on and off campus that can
explain student rights and what options are available moving forward.
Male teachers
are only human And it’s normal for men
of all ages to find young, women attractive and the same goes for both female
teachers and male students. It’s biology. Being a teacher however does not mean
one loses his/her awareness towards attractive members of the opposite sex.
When that occurs, hey are abusing their students and risking their teaching
careers.
But many people
assume that finding a student attractive equates to some form of perversion or
some potential wrongdoing which it can, but not automatically. Thoughts are not crimes. One can notice an
attractive person and simply leave it at that. If we could be convicted because
of impure or inappropriate thoughts, we’d all be locked up.
EXperts have revealed the reasons behind why female
teachers target young boys for sex and believe it may be partly driven by
loneliness, a lack of intimacy and the over-sexualization of youth.
According
to figures obtained under Freedom of Information, more than 100 women were
convicted of sexual offences in the United Kingdom in 2015, a trend that’s
almost trebled in the past decade.
In a
piece written by Andrea Darling from the criminology department at Durham
University in England and published by The
Conversation, these examples of sex offenders often don’t fit the “mold of
what many consider a predatory pedophile”.
Before I go further in this article,
I will tell you that I studied abnormal psychology at the University of Toronto
for a school year and I conducted group and individual counseling of inmates in
a correctional facility in Toronto for five years. This doesn’t mean that I am an expert in hat
field but I have a fairly good understanding of the human mind.
Unlike other sex offenders, they
do not specifically enter their professions to access children. Instead
research has found that many (though not all) of these women appear to sexually
abuse students because of their own unmet intimacy needs resulting from
relationship problems and feelings of loneliness, for example.
These women are
also different from other female sex offenders in that they are generally
older, more affluent, have better social skills and less issues with substance
abuse. Their
behaviour is also to some extent influenced by the very situations they are
working in a position that are based on the ‘power’ that the female teacher
has, a position of dominance and control.
Perhaps the teacher is
experiencing personal loneliness, dissatisfaction with her current
relationship, feels the need for revenge, is experiencing lust or perhaps
believes it is ‘true love’. In many cases, there is a history of sexual and or
psychological abuse toward the perpetrator.
Many psychiatric pathologies can
lead to this type of behaviour including mood disorders, personality disorders
and prior sexual trauma.
The reasoning behind more of these abuse scenarios being reported on
comes down to a number of factors. It could be that these situations went
largely unnoticed or unreported. But also the over-sexualisation of youth, the
sexual empowerment of women and the young age at which we are seeing teacher
enter the workforce.”
While this behaviour was abuse and should be punished accordingly, the
impact it could have on a victim in these types of cases, was often overlooked.
This is because social and cultural norms mean that
women are often viewed as nurturers and carers, ‘the fairer sex’ and therefore they
were not capable of sexual aggression.
This means that abuse by a woman
is seen as being less harmful than abuse by a man and is viewed as the result
of mental instability or coercion by a male partner. This not only minimises
the offending behaviour, but it also unfairly downplays the consequences for
the woman’s young male victims.
Let’s not forget the most famous case of all of them. The female teacher
was sweet faced Mary Kay Letourneau, who was embroiled in a Seattle rape
scandal that shocked the world. In 1996, the then 34-year-old Seattle primary
school teacher was busted having sex with her 12-year-old student, Vili
Fualaau.
The mother-of-four was sentenced to seven years behind bars following
the rape, and put on the registered sex offender list for the rest of her life.
But following her release, the pair continued their relationship and to date,
have been married, divorced and share two children together.
Unfortunately,
it could be that these situations went largely unnoticed or unreported. But
also the over-sexualization of youth, the sexual empowerment of women and the
young age at which we are seeing these teachers enter the workforce.”
This
is because social and cultural norms mean that women are per se often viewed as
nurturers and caregivers, ‘the fairer sex’ and therefore they are not capable
of sexual aggression. In many instances, it is a misconception of what some of
these teachers really are.
This
can result in the impression that the sexual abuse by a woman is seen as being
less harmful than such abuse by a man and viewed as the result of mental
instability or coercion by a young male sexual partner.
This
not only minimizes the offending behavior, but it also unfairly downplays the
consequences for the offender’s victims.
We've
all heard of the Catholic Church child abuse scandal that's still regularly
reported 20 to 40 years after much of the abuse took place. It too was tragic,
and acknowledged as such by the church, which has taken action to prevent its
ever happening again.
This
scandal has horrified parents everywhere because it was so unexpected. But when we learned that over a million
school children have been sexually abused by their teachers, we are shocked
because we know that the Catholic clergy are under a moral obligation to not
have sex with women but school teachers are not having to live under those m oral conditions.
By
comparison, the Catholic League estimates seven credible sexual abuse cases
each year for 40,000 priests which is alarming.
What
is really alarming is that he most widely cited study available, conducted in
2004 by the U.S. Education Department,
estimated that 1-in-10 students will be sexually abused by a teacher during
their years in school. It's an epidemic facing our school children and their
parents.
More than 100
women were convicted of sexual offences in 2015. The
figures, obtained via a freedom of information request, show the
number of convictions almost trebled in a decade. Among those convicted were a
number of school staff, including teachers, a head teacher and a teaching
assistant.
The attractive
female teacher “seducing” the wide-eyed teenage pupil is a plot line that has
recently featured in two popular TV shows: Ackley Bridge and Hollyoaks.
This kind of story is often portrayed as a “coming of age” experience but
legally, a teacher engaging in any form of sexual relationship with a child
under their care is abuse. And while it’s not spoken about very often, female perpetrated sexual abuse in
schools does happen.
Although this
type of abuse goes on, determining how common it is can be very difficult,
given the limited research in this area. One study in the US found women were
responsible for 19% of child sexual abuse committed in positions of
trust. A recent international research review across
a number of countries also found concerning levels – reporting that one in nine
sex offenders were females .How many students who were molested by these
teachers had their views of sexual relationships skewed?
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