Double standard for females having sex with minors

Over the past few weeks, there have been a lot of news stories of arrests and convictions involving female teachers who have had sex with minor students (in most cases, boys, but in one case, a girl):

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1102051teach1.html
http://www.nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg&section=News&storyid=136863
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/World/2005/11/23/1319123-sun.html
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/World/2005/11/23/1319128-sun.html
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20051116/localnews/37992.shtml

That is a handful of examples, there are a lot more. What is surprising to me is the lenient sentences being given out. In the case of the Florida teacher who had sex with a 14 year old boy, she received no jail time. The NY teacher who had sex with four boys, sometimes with her own children in the house, got 6 months in jail and much to the outrage of the families involved, the sentencing judge said she was a victim herself because of low self esteem that allowed her to let the boys use her as a plaything. Other convictions have been similarly light given the circumstances.

If these had been adult males involved with underage female or males, they would be doing hard prison time, as the outcome of court cases have shown time and time again. Why is a double standard being applied to women?

Hey, double standards work both ways. If a guy sleeps around he's, like, cool, and if a girl sleeps around she's a slut.

/me drags Kris from the 80's

You need to drag my whole country out of the 80's then

And if you're a guy then sluts are cool.

I think we share the same country You will live near Ritzy nightclub eh?

LOL. That too!

Contrast the original post with this:

http://www.local10.com/news/4210627/detail.html

In this case, a high profile Miami local news weatherman set up a meeting on the internet with what he thought was a 14 year old boy. When he arrived to meet him, he was arrested and ended up being sentenced to 5 years in prison - and he had not even had sex with the boy (as there was no boy, there was an FBI officer).

I completely agree he should be in prison, I just don't understand the massive double standard being applied legally. Here you have someone who didn't have sex with a minor, and gets 5 years. You then have female teachers who have ongoing sex with minors, and don't even get prison time (or limited prison time).

Example:

Hackensack, N.J., in the spring of 2002, a state judge sentenced 43-year-old teacher Pamela Diehl-Moore to probation for having sex with a seventh-grade student who was only 13 at the time.

Though prosecutors had argued for jail for Diehl-Moore, the judge in the case, Bruce A. Gaeta, disagreed. He put the onus on the student, saying the encounters with his teacher may only have been a way for him to "satisfy his sexual needs."

According to court transcripts, as reported by AP, Gaeta said, "I don't see anything here that shows this young man has been psychologically damaged by her actions. And don't forget, this was mutual consent."

lol. There used to be a Ritzy here, yes! I dunno what it's called now, but it's still the exact same kinda club. ie, hasn't moved on from the 80's either

Here's one that got a little heavier penalty:

Woman, 41, gets 30 years for seducing teens
'Cool mom' pleaded guilty to sexual assault, contributing to delinquency

Updated: 8:01 a.m. ET Nov. 15, 2005
GOLDEN, Colo. - A woman who authorities said had sex with high school boys during alcohol- and drug-fueled parties has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, officials said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10049170

But your right - overall I do think that there is a bias. Part of it may be that females can endure physical damage if the sexual assault involves penetration (at too young an age) whereas with a heterosexual older female/underage male rape, it's primarily psychological damage.

Not to dismiss that, but just to say that the bias may be in considering one worse than the other.

Are you surprised tho Cristiano?

This is obviously a situation in which Linden Lab needs to address and fix the problem, and debating it among ourselves won't get the job done

Maybe Chuck Norris should decide punishment in these cases.

Hey! Chuck Norris doesn't even need to DECIDE in these cases...

All he has to do is BE there, and the pure righteousness flowing out from his body will coalesce into ninjas of kung-fu whupass that will lay the smackdown on all wrongdoers in the place!

Very good observation! I didnt even think about it that way.

yes Chuck Norris would do all that and more cause you know why? it was that female (Friend) of his...Alex...wrongly accused of having sex with a 17 year old boy...we all know she would never cheat on Chuck!

While I agree wholeheartedly that there is an extreme double standard; I would just like to know why the hell this didn't happen to me when I was 14??? Huh??

Yeah, the 1680's.

I saw the thing about the "cool mom" case too. I imagine the reason the sentence was so high in that instance was not only the sex, but the fact that she was supplying them with drugs and alcohol.

I suppose a lot of people look at it as a victimless crime in the case of an older woman and a boy - that they boy wanted it. That is probably even true to a degree. I certainly would have had sex with some of my teachers in high school (no comment on whether or not I did ). I imagine there are not a lot of young boys who would turn down a change for sex with a hot older teacher. It also doesn't help when it is glorified in some ways - for example, the underage storyline on Desperate Housewives. However, consent doesn't enter into the law at that age, so why the legal double standard?

There are underage girls who want to be with older men as well - and also the even more complex issue of same sex relationships. Yet that is treated totally different in most cases. The cases of teachers having sex with students is especially troubling because they are in a position of power and authority, and are abusing it. Yet women get away with doing so far more than men.

No, no, no. If a guy sleeps around, he's a horndog, and if a girl sleeps around... well, she's very popular with the guys!



P2

I think these judges must have a very naive and very old-fashioned view of women. It used to be a common belief that it was only males who really had active sex-drives, and women only used (or allowed, or submitted to) sex for emotional needs. Some men (and women) are dumb enough and unobservant enough to still believe that.

If a man has sex, it's for sex. He wanted sex. He needed sex, and he used these poor defenseless women or girls to get it.

If a woman has sex, it's for some trumped up psychological need and yearning to belong. She must have actually been the victim, somehow, because women don't need or want sex!

To which I say, pfft!

Got it bad, soooo bad -- I'm hot for teacher! -- Van Halen



P2

I think its a societal thing, and not just with judges. The post above, if made about a male teacher and female teenager, would be /reported as it insensitive to a (statutory) rape.

Don't stand
Don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me

(eep, back to the 80's again...)