Here is an article in the Cobb County News. The story takes place in Marietta GA. http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/it-s-gross-but-232336.html. A teacher has just been acquitted of felony sexual assault because his seventeen-year-old victim got on the stand and said that the sex was "consensual." That they were "in love." That the teacher was "unhappy in his marriage." That's right, folks...this forty-something (former) teacher of English and Journalism was married with two small children at the time of his arrest.
King was in the process of divorcing his wife, with whom he has two small children, when they began dating, she said.Right.
I remember being seventeen. I was seduced by a twenty-two-year-old who told me he loved me.
At least he was single!
From the article:
In June, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that, when the student is a willing participant and is 16 or older, the student’s consent can be a defense for teachers facing a sexual assault charge. The judge referenced that decision in his ruling.So. Christopher King was arrested at the end of May, and in June, the Georgia Supreme Court made the above ruling. I have to wonder what case was brought to the Court that prompted it. It sounds tailor-made for Mr. King's situation, doesn't it? Either that, or there is way too much of this sort of thing going on in Georgia!
Semrau said his client, who is now a salesman, would like to resume his relationship with the girl.You can bet your sweet bippy he would!
According to the "Bad Bad Teacher" blog (http://badbadteacher.com/christopher-richard-king/), he violated the terms of his bond by having email contact with the victim, a couple of months after his arrest. Got his bad self sent back to jail for a few days over it.
Slipping through a loophole in the law is not any sort of victory. Regardless of the law, it is immoral for a teacher to seduce a student; it is immoral for anyone in their forties to have sex with a seventeen-year-old, and he needs to get a couple of smacks for messing around while married, too.
Where do people draw the line? How can this slob look at himself in the mirror?
I know about seventeen-year-old girls. Parents, counsellors, police...nobody can tell them anything. They know it all. Used to be, the law, at least, was there to protect them. Apparently not so much, any more.
Not in Georgia, anyway.
Good catch on those dates! I missed that! So if he was arrested in May and the law wasn't passed until June, would it still apply to his arrest?
ReplyDeleteI know very little about the inner workings of government, but I do know when something stinks!
All teenage girls tend to have a crush on an older teacher, but I don't think too many would act upon those feelings unless they were encouraged and somehow made to feel safe in their decision to move forward with it.
I think the law itself was already in place. Usually, the way the Supreme Court gets a case is if there has been a challenge to a new(ish) law, and has to either uphold it or strike it down. I could be wrong, not knowing much about Georgia Law.
ReplyDeleteNot much that they can do seriously. He isnt a teacher anymore thank God. But she was of the age of consent in the state, and still wants to be with him.
ReplyDeleteYes, teenagers know it all. Perverts know how to get around the rules. I doubt she will be troubled any more than any of us who made a bad choice.