The Black Swordsman
Well-Known Member
17 is legal in Arizona
Why is there so much sympathy for this woman who abused her authoritative position? 22yo man and 17yo boy, no sympathy. 22yo man and 17yo girl, no sympathy. 22yo woman and 17yo girl, abundant sympathy.
that's wrong.
22yo man and 17yo boy, no sympathy.
22yo man and 17yo girl, no sympathy.
22yo woman and 17yo girl.....
So we must ensure the insanity is applied with consistency.
I agree with you that it is insane but if you are going to apply that metric, which society has, apply it consistently.
Yes, but we're applying it in the wrong direction. The gender of the two is irrelevant. It's no big deal regardless.
I never understood the logic of ruining someone's life for having consensual sex with a 17 year old.
The teacher was 22. In Utah, consensual sex between people of ages 22 and 17 is legal, AFAICT.
Innocent until proven guilty is a legal concept regarding who has the burden of proof. It doesn't mean everyone should assume the person is innocent in day to day life except for the police/prosecutors.
I love that the state has the burden to prove a citizen did something and that we don't instead require the accused to prove they DIDN'T do it. But it is irrelevant whether I as a private citizen should think someone's a slimeball/guilty even though a jury hasn't convicted them yet.
As for the media, there's a reason they post the accuser and not the accused. I think it's a good idea to consider not naming the accused in sex crimes until they are proven guilty because of the way mere criminal allegations can ruin lives and careers even without a conviction. But to say it's unfair that a victim isn't publicized comes off quite ignorant. Victims of violent crimes and especially sexual crimes have a much lower reporting rate than other crimes for a number of reasons. Often it may involve embarrassment and risk of retaliation from the accuseds' friends/family.
Are innocent people harmed by false accusations, of course! And the false accusers should be shamed and punished! But until that time arrives that an accusation is proven false, an accuser's identity should not be thrown about publicly for everyone to attack.
Does anybody remember case from around 2008 involving the seminary principal in Utah? Did anybody see the things said about that girl by her peers? Did anyone see the young teenagers show up to court in support of the accused while trashing the victim on facebook, blogs, and other social media? Publishing her information would not have done any good for her or the situation. If it would have turned out that she made it up then yes she should be publicly shamed, but not at first. It's hard enough for victims to come forward in the first place. Requiring them to give up any sense of privacy in addition to publicly facing their rapist places too much of a burden on a person.
I'm saying it's unfair to post one and not the other. All the damage is done to the accused the minute they have their face and name plastered on the news. If they are proven innocent there is the perception (fair or not) that they got through a technicality or worked the system some how. Either way their teaching career is over.
Guilty until proven innocent by the media. Her teacher career is over guilty or not. Seems a bit unfair to be able to post a picture of the accused but not of the accuser.
I think the situation is somewhat different because it involves a teacher and student - i.e. the adult is in a position of authority. It would be different if the two were neighbors, or had met in some other social situation. I'm not saying I approve of that. If it were MY 17-yr old daughter I'd not want her having sex with a 22-yr old woman - OR man.I never understood the logic of ruining someone's life for having consensual sex with a 17 year old.
I think the situation is somewhat different because it involves a teacher and student - i.e. the adult is in a position of authority. It would be different if the two were neighbors, or had met in some other social situation. I'm not saying I approve of that. If it were MY 17-yr old daughter I'd not want her having sex with a 22-yr old woman - OR man.
I think the police and DA's are only going to prosecute these cases if there is forced sex or if it was "consensual" but could have been under duress - i.e. the adult is a teacher, leader, supervisor, etc. who has direct authority over the younger person. In this case, prosecution should probably hinge on that factor. At the very least, the woman loses her teaching credentials and has to expalin that away for many, many years as she seeks other employment.