need areas for improvement. not a good writer and need constructive critisism
Sexual Predators in the Classrooms
Sex is a normal stage in the maturity process of all healthy adults. When a parent catches their teenage son masturbating, it's viewed as normal, they have a conversation about it and everyone moves on with life. The object of one's attraction is what determines the realms of normal. Some are attracted to the opposite sex, others the same sex and some even attracted to children. As odd as it sounds to a normal adult, others have a high attraction to children. Some adults go as far to use their career as grounds to satisfy their attraction, like teachers and coaches.
Teachers having inappropriate relationships with children is a huge situation that doesn't get nearly as much attention as it should. In 2014 there was almost 800 reported cases of teachers and other school officials involved in or accused of being involved in a sexual relationship with a student (Abbott, ""More Teachers are Having Sex With their Students. Here's how Schools can Stop Them"). As a working parent this is extremely scary because these are very high numbers. With these inappropriate student teacher relationships at their current rate, any parent would be concerned about this epidemic. These alarming numbers leaves the room to speculate is the hiring process or background check thorough enough and if it is not what could be done to make the gaps less visible. There will always be predators that slip through the cracks but why do these sexual abusers completely disregard the fact their behavior is illegal and will result in jail time. One of the reasons student and teacher relationships are so high is because the punishment for teacher's are not harsh enough.
Depending on the state and their laws is what will determine the outcome of a convicted child molester. A Virginia teacher admitted to her scandalous actions and her conviction was supposed to be harsh but was in fact a mere slap in the hand. Erica Lynn Mesa was a high school math teacher who admitted to having male high school students lined up in her basement. As stated in the My San Antonio article, Mesa admitted to sending a nude photo of herself to a 16-year-old male student (White, High school teacher had students lining up in her basement to have sex with her). A normal adult reads about this situation and is left wondering what she got out of these promiscuous relations with these children. As if that wasn't enough to provoke concern regarding this matter, Mesa goes on to admit to the deputy that was not the only encounter she's had with young children. Mesa even told deputies she had students over her home while her husband was away. Her scandalous ways continued as she had one student wait in the basement while another one was upstairs with her (White, High school teacher had students lining up in her basement to have sex with her).
The fact that Mesa felt the need to openly admit to her actions shows she may be remorseful. She may have also admitted to the sexual affair because she knew the statutory rape laws only requires a 12 month sentence. Now according to the Virginia statutory rape laws Mesa she was causing or encouraging juvenile delinquency (Criminal Defense Lawyer, Virginia Statutory Rape Laws). Under Virginia's law the offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor, which is up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 or both (Criminal Defense Lawyer, Virginia Statutory Rape Laws)! A 12 month sentence for consentual sex with a minor is absurd and shows no justice to the victims. After she admitted to sexual acts with multiple students Mesa received a slap on the wrist. Erica Lynn Mesa was sentenced to three years. Which is legally 6 times longer than the maximum recommendation of three to six months (Epps, Judge Says ex-educator will serve 3 years in prison).
This rising issue is scary because out of the almost 800 reported cases in 2014, there were almost 800 attorneys justifying the sick actions of these child molesters. As an attorney it is their job to defend their client to the best of their abilities. Gardner says Mesa doesn't need to suffer anymore because she has to wear the shame of her actions for the rest of her life (White, High school teacher had students lining up in her basement to have sex with her). Although those students are feeling good now about sleeping with a teacher they have no idea how their innocence was stolen and the damage it could cause in the future. Where are the advocates for the high school boys for their pain and suffering and future pain and suffering they have to go through? These boys are not legally capable of making decisions of this caliber so essentially, they were molested. Molested by an adult who was supposed to be a member of the village that goes above and beyond to raise them. When addressing questions Mesa's lawyer responded by saying she wasn't a pedophile because she was not preying on individuals who had no interest (White, High school teacher had students lining up in her basement to have sex with her). One thing her lawyer is correct about is Erica Lynn Mesa, and all other teachers who were caught up in their twisted sexual desires for younger people, are not pedophiles. They are molesters and should be thrown underneath the prison they created for those unknowingly kids.
There is a lot of confusion surrounding the terms pedophile and child molester. The term "pedophilia" was included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by The American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 1968 (Martin, "What is Pedophilia"). A pedophile is an adult who has an attraction to children under the age of 13 (Martin, "What is Pedophilia"). Mesa's victim were high school aged so that automatically takes her out of the class as a pedophile because of her victim's age. She performed an act what experts call ad ephebophilia. The term ephebophilia comes from the Greek word for "youth" (Pedophilia). Still suffering from the attraction to children, ephebophilia is used to describe an adult's interest in older children. This disorder creates an attraction to children 13 and older, when they're in the first stages of puberty (Pedophilia). Sexologist Ray Blanchard is a professor at the University of Toronto and he states "child molesters are defined by their acts; pedophiles are defined by their desires" (Martin, "What is Pedophilia"). So since Mesa acted on her desires she was no longer a pedophile, she ranked up to a child molester.
There is no way of knowing how many teacher/student relationships went on that weren't reported. As parents, we deserve to know if our children are in safe hands. We send our children to school to learn but too many teachers have the wrong lesson in mind.
Works Cited
Abbott, Terry. "More Teachers are Having Sex With With their Students. Here's how Schools can Stop Them." Washingtonpost.com, 01/20/2015 < washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/01/20/more-teachers-are-having-sex-with-their-students-heres-how-schools-can-stop-them/>
Epps, Keith. "Judge says ex-educator will serve 3 years in prison." Fredericksburg.com, 05/21/2015
< fredericksburg.com/news/crime_courts/judge-says-ex-educator-will-serve-years-in-prison/article_07a21990-0011-11e5-bf9d-63ca7ffc928a.html >
Martin, Laura J., "What is Pedophilia", Web M.D.
< webmd.com/mental-health/features/explaining-pedophilia>
White, Tyler. "Highschool teacher had students lining up in her basement to have sex with her" My San Antonio 03/24/2015
< mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/High-school-teacher-had-students-lining-up-in-her-6155258.php>
Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
Sexual Predators in the Classrooms
Sex is a normal stage in the maturity process of all healthy adults. When a parent catches their teenage son masturbating, it's viewed as normal, they have a conversation about it and everyone moves on with life. The object of one's attraction is what determines the realms of normal. Some are attracted to the opposite sex, others the same sex and some even attracted to children. As odd as it sounds to a normal adult, others have a high attraction to children. Some adults go as far to use their career as grounds to satisfy their attraction, like teachers and coaches.
Teachers having inappropriate relationships with children is a huge situation that doesn't get nearly as much attention as it should. In 2014 there was almost 800 reported cases of teachers and other school officials involved in or accused of being involved in a sexual relationship with a student (Abbott, ""More Teachers are Having Sex With their Students. Here's how Schools can Stop Them"). As a working parent this is extremely scary because these are very high numbers. With these inappropriate student teacher relationships at their current rate, any parent would be concerned about this epidemic. These alarming numbers leaves the room to speculate is the hiring process or background check thorough enough and if it is not what could be done to make the gaps less visible. There will always be predators that slip through the cracks but why do these sexual abusers completely disregard the fact their behavior is illegal and will result in jail time. One of the reasons student and teacher relationships are so high is because the punishment for teacher's are not harsh enough.
Depending on the state and their laws is what will determine the outcome of a convicted child molester. A Virginia teacher admitted to her scandalous actions and her conviction was supposed to be harsh but was in fact a mere slap in the hand. Erica Lynn Mesa was a high school math teacher who admitted to having male high school students lined up in her basement. As stated in the My San Antonio article, Mesa admitted to sending a nude photo of herself to a 16-year-old male student (White, High school teacher had students lining up in her basement to have sex with her). A normal adult reads about this situation and is left wondering what she got out of these promiscuous relations with these children. As if that wasn't enough to provoke concern regarding this matter, Mesa goes on to admit to the deputy that was not the only encounter she's had with young children. Mesa even told deputies she had students over her home while her husband was away. Her scandalous ways continued as she had one student wait in the basement while another one was upstairs with her (White, High school teacher had students lining up in her basement to have sex with her).
The fact that Mesa felt the need to openly admit to her actions shows she may be remorseful. She may have also admitted to the sexual affair because she knew the statutory rape laws only requires a 12 month sentence. Now according to the Virginia statutory rape laws Mesa she was causing or encouraging juvenile delinquency (Criminal Defense Lawyer, Virginia Statutory Rape Laws). Under Virginia's law the offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor, which is up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 or both (Criminal Defense Lawyer, Virginia Statutory Rape Laws)! A 12 month sentence for consentual sex with a minor is absurd and shows no justice to the victims. After she admitted to sexual acts with multiple students Mesa received a slap on the wrist. Erica Lynn Mesa was sentenced to three years. Which is legally 6 times longer than the maximum recommendation of three to six months (Epps, Judge Says ex-educator will serve 3 years in prison).
This rising issue is scary because out of the almost 800 reported cases in 2014, there were almost 800 attorneys justifying the sick actions of these child molesters. As an attorney it is their job to defend their client to the best of their abilities. Gardner says Mesa doesn't need to suffer anymore because she has to wear the shame of her actions for the rest of her life (White, High school teacher had students lining up in her basement to have sex with her). Although those students are feeling good now about sleeping with a teacher they have no idea how their innocence was stolen and the damage it could cause in the future. Where are the advocates for the high school boys for their pain and suffering and future pain and suffering they have to go through? These boys are not legally capable of making decisions of this caliber so essentially, they were molested. Molested by an adult who was supposed to be a member of the village that goes above and beyond to raise them. When addressing questions Mesa's lawyer responded by saying she wasn't a pedophile because she was not preying on individuals who had no interest (White, High school teacher had students lining up in her basement to have sex with her). One thing her lawyer is correct about is Erica Lynn Mesa, and all other teachers who were caught up in their twisted sexual desires for younger people, are not pedophiles. They are molesters and should be thrown underneath the prison they created for those unknowingly kids.
There is a lot of confusion surrounding the terms pedophile and child molester. The term "pedophilia" was included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by The American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 1968 (Martin, "What is Pedophilia"). A pedophile is an adult who has an attraction to children under the age of 13 (Martin, "What is Pedophilia"). Mesa's victim were high school aged so that automatically takes her out of the class as a pedophile because of her victim's age. She performed an act what experts call ad ephebophilia. The term ephebophilia comes from the Greek word for "youth" (Pedophilia). Still suffering from the attraction to children, ephebophilia is used to describe an adult's interest in older children. This disorder creates an attraction to children 13 and older, when they're in the first stages of puberty (Pedophilia). Sexologist Ray Blanchard is a professor at the University of Toronto and he states "child molesters are defined by their acts; pedophiles are defined by their desires" (Martin, "What is Pedophilia"). So since Mesa acted on her desires she was no longer a pedophile, she ranked up to a child molester.
There is no way of knowing how many teacher/student relationships went on that weren't reported. As parents, we deserve to know if our children are in safe hands. We send our children to school to learn but too many teachers have the wrong lesson in mind.
Works Cited
Abbott, Terry. "More Teachers are Having Sex With With their Students. Here's how Schools can Stop Them." Washingtonpost.com, 01/20/2015 < washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/01/20/more-teachers-are-having-sex-with-their-students-heres-how-schools-can-stop-them/>
Epps, Keith. "Judge says ex-educator will serve 3 years in prison." Fredericksburg.com, 05/21/2015
< fredericksburg.com/news/crime_courts/judge-says-ex-educator-will-serve-years-in-prison/article_07a21990-0011-11e5-bf9d-63ca7ffc928a.html >
Martin, Laura J., "What is Pedophilia", Web M.D.
< webmd.com/mental-health/features/explaining-pedophilia>
White, Tyler. "Highschool teacher had students lining up in her basement to have sex with her" My San Antonio 03/24/2015
< mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/High-school-teacher-had-students-lining-up-in-her-6155258.php>
Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders