Teachers face firing over support of fellow teacher convicted of molestation

[Papageorgio]

Their son had grown increasingly distant from the once close-knit family through his early teens, as Erickson, his middle school math teacher, manipulated the young boy into a twisted relationship that lasted from Aug. 2006 to Aug. 2009. The victim frequently lashed out at his father and the tension tore their family apart.

What are the ages of Middle School students ?
I guess early teens.
Boy was under the age of consent..."Courts deal in law not morality".
Have sex with the boy...guilty, no excuses acceptable.

Teachers supporting the guilty teacher? could well be seen as approving of his crime.
Probably should no longer be allowed near students...could they ever be trusted?


___________________
****************


Now, if a male teacher is say 24, and the female student is say 17 [over the age of consent in the US?], and they fall in love and have sex, is that a crime in the US?

Depends on the state.

 

[Papageorgio]

The teacher is scum and violated a trust between the student and the teacher.

The teacher's obligation is to the student and the student's best interest.

The teachers that defended the scum are scum themselves.

They have the right to free speech and the school district can judge the words and decide if these are the type of teachers they want to continue to employ. We, having heard their words, have a right to object to their words.

 

[JakeStarkey]

You have the right to your opinion and to post your thoughts about it, indeed.

The school board, by the power of the voters, has the right to determine if the teachers continue at the school.

 

[Papageorgio]

Never mind, some people aren't worth the trouble.

 

[JakeStarkey]

I absolutely agree.

 

[Asclepias]

As much as I cant stand an adult victimizing a child its even worse when an adult teacher does it. The teacher is automatically seen as an authority figure for child and that relationship should never be compromised. The teachers supporting this person are worse than the bacteria that breaks down dog shit but have a right to show and voice their support for this guy under our 1rst amendment rights. I think there may be grounds for dismissing the teachers if the schools policy is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for the children. How can these teachers do that if they are supporting a child molester?

 

[JakeStarkey]

That will be the nut of the matter that the School Board may consider on whether to rehire the teachers.

The parents can certainly input their feelings.

The Board will decide.

 

[Vox]

"Does the first amendment protect a teacher's job when it comes to something like this?"

This is a excellent situation for the question that you raise.

Although it makes me feel uneasy in this particular connection....the answer is 'yes.'

No, IT IS NOT. First Amendment is their right to free speech.
That is not protecting their right for particular employment.
Although a private business should be able to discharge employees who damage their brand, institutions that are part of the government should, at the very least, respect the Constitution.

It has nothing to do with private vs public. It has ALL to do with public safety and professional level of acceptability for particular tasks.
Teachers who do not understand the necessity to protect the children can absolutely voice their opinion on the matter and should not be JAILED< FINED or criminally prosecuted.
They can be fired because they are UNFIT FOR THE JOB - not understanding the concept of child safety, therefore mentally unfit for particular jobs.

In other words - professionally incapable and unfit.

Shunning is acceptable, but no more than that.

You would not want a person with unfit professional qualities to perform a particular task either in public or private business - it has absolutely nothing to do with the 1st Amendment.

 

[JakeStarkey]

And that will be the school board, not the parents, with the final say.

 

[JoeB131]

The proper term is minors, not children. children is a term used when you want to arouse sympathy, even if the "child" was beating the snot out of someone and was well past puberty and almost fully grown.

Sex isnt the issue, trust is the issue, and a teacher in a sexual relation with a student is not only illegal due to statue, it is a violation of trust, trust between both the student and the teacher, and the teacher and the parents.

That you are even close to trying to defend this makes you a fucking dirtbag.

again, if the kid was complaining, I'd be in his corner 100%.

His homophobic, bible thumping parents, not so much.

This kids parents were upset that he was taped too!!
Man jailed for kidnap and raping a boy on Halloween | Central - ITV News
Such scumbag bible thumping homophobes huh?

And again, where is the kid making a complaint, because he's a legal adult now.

 

[JoeB131]

The proper term is minors, not children. children is a term used when you want to arouse sympathy, even if the "child" was beating the snot out of someone and was well past puberty and almost fully grown.

Sex isnt the issue, trust is the issue, and a teacher in a sexual relation with a student is not only illegal due to statue, it is a violation of trust, trust between both the student and the teacher, and the teacher and the parents.

That you are even close to trying to defend this makes you a fucking dirtbag.

again, if the kid was complaining, I'd be in his corner 100%.

His homophobic, bible thumping parents, not so much.

This kids parents were upset that he was taped too!!
Man jailed for kidnap and raping a boy on Halloween | Central - ITV News
Such scumbag bible thumping homophobes huh?

What does a link about another case have to do with this case?

Okay, try to pay attention here. The kid who is now an adult is not the one trying to get teachers fired because they thought their co-worker should be shown some lieancy.

It's the parents of the kid, who are probably just soooo upset their kid is gay.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Someone wrote, "As much as I cant stand an adult victimizing a child its even worse when an adult teacher does it." And what is worse is the parent who abuses. All parents who home school must have a back ground check and pass the state equivalent of Exit or Praxis to teach their children. All adults in the household should have a back ground check as well.

We want all our children safe.

 

[Jarlaxle]

NAMBLA is really part of the libertarian base.

Just when I think that I have seen the STUPIDEST STATEMENT EVER on the Internet...Jake squats and squeezes out this jewel.

Jarlaxle, that can't be true because you post every day

Pedophiles are libertarians by nature: no law to interfere with their desire to have sex with children.

Your obsession with pedophiles is getting a little disturbing, dude. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP!

 

[Papageorgio]

Just when I think that I have seen the STUPIDEST STATEMENT EVER on the Internet...Jake squats and squeezes out this jewel.

Jarlaxle, that can't be true because you post every day

Pedophiles are libertarians by nature: no law to interfere with their desire to have sex with children.

Your obsession with pedophiles is getting a little disturbing, dude. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP!

For a guy that cries and cries about reactionaries, he sure acts like one. He obsessions are quite amusing and in this case disturbing.

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

All this talk about "child" rape! To me children are five-year-olds and 10-year-olds. Not 15-year-olds. You'd probably be hard-pressed to find a 15-year-old virgin. Not because they are raped, but because they willingly engage in sex. They're not "children."

I graduated from high school in 1970, and even way back then there were very few virgins by the time kids graduated from high school. As a matter of fact, some of them were downright promiscuous. But certainly not "children."

I'm not saying it's okay for a teacher or scout leader or whatever to abuse their position of authority and engage in inappropriate relationships with teenagers. I'm just saying, let's reserve this level of outrage for the pedophiles who are molesting actual children.

And maybe I feel this way because I've seen some of these situations from the perspective of the so-called victims. And they weren't victims at all.

 

[JoeB131]

This kids parents were upset that he was taped too!!
Man jailed for kidnap and raping a boy on Halloween | Central - ITV News
Such scumbag bible thumping homophobes huh?

And again, where is the kid making a complaint, because he's a legal adult now.

So child rape is ok, childhood is after all only a temporary condition.

Lad I grew up with, his 15 year old got pregnant to A 22 year old.
He knew her age.
Police let it slide, he was Doing the right thing by staying with her.
They had the kid(9 now) and remain a couple.
Though the paedophile father did disappear and have an affair, with another 15 year old at least once.
Child rape is never ok.
Exept in the twisted, perverted minds of sick fuck liberal fanatics.

Or the law, which is why they see sex with teens as "statutory rape" and sex with children as "child molestation". The law doesn't see the two things as equivlent.

Just remember, a teen is an adult when he's being shot by a white racist like George Zimmerman, but he's a "child" when he had a gay relationship his bible-thumping parents don't approve of.

 

[Jarlaxle]

All this talk about "child" rape! To me children are five-year-olds and 10-year-olds. Not 15-year-olds. You'd probably be hard-pressed to find a 15-year-old virgin. Not because they are raped, but because they willingly engage in sex. They're not "children."

I graduated from high school in 1970, and even way back then there were very few virgins by the time kids graduated from high school. As a matter of fact, some of them were downright promiscuous. But certainly not "children."

I'm not saying it's okay for a teacher or scout leader or whatever to abuse their position of authority and engage in inappropriate relationships with teenagers. I'm just saying, let's reserve this level of outrage for the pedophiles who are molesting actual children.

And maybe I feel this way because I've seen some of these situations from the perspective of the so-called victims. And they weren't victims at all.

Getting MARRIED at age 16 (or even 15!) wasn't unusual in the past. And I mean the RECENT past: as in, the 20th century! My grandmother was married at 16.

 

[Kondor3]

There is no excuse for a teacher sexually assaulting a minor.

None.

Period.

No rationalizations.

No past precedents about early marriage; throwbacks to a time of high mortality all around.

No excuses accepted.

The Perp needs to be pinned to the wall, using The Law.

And those teaching colleagues who sided with him for Leniency purposes deserve to be bitch-slapped for choosing the wrong side and for their stupidity and insensitivity in making such a choice, vis a vis the students entrusted to them and the worried parents who watched all this unfold.

What the teachers did was Morally and Ethically Wrong.

They had a Legal RIGHT to do so, but, it was Morally and Ethically Wrong, nonetheless, and speaks volumes about Blind, Unthinking Labor Solidarity, even amongst supposedly well-educated people.

Because those teachers chose to align with a true Evil-Doer rather than their Charges and their Parents, I, for one, wish each and every one of those teachers, a suitable and fitting karmic experience, with respect to their careers, as payment for their despicable choice and action in supporting that convicted Bottom-Feeder.

 

[Sunshine]

A pretty sad case where a teacher was convicted, and numerous fellow teachers at the school and a school official pleaded for leniency.

Father of molested student talks about his outrage toward seven teachers who supported the rapist - EAGnews.org powered by Education Action Group Foundation, Inc.

The main bits:

On July 29, the WB-RC school board held a special meeting at the Ogemaw Heights High School auditorium where a steady stream of concerned parents and local residents made their way to the podium and urged school officials to terminate the seven teachers who supported Erickson.

School leaders are attempting to determine if the terminations would violate the teachers&#8217; constitutional right to free speech, which could trigger lawsuits that would undoubtedly cost far more than the district can afford.

Their son had grown increasingly distant from the once close-knit family through his early teens, as Erickson, his middle school math teacher, manipulated the young boy into a twisted relationship that lasted from Aug. 2006 to Aug. 2009. The victim frequently lashed out at his father and the tension tore their family apart.

Despite the disturbing revelations, the Janczewskis were content to let the legal process take its course. They kept a low profile and followed Erickson&#8217;s criminal case closely. Erickson admitted to his misdeeds, and the couple attended his sentencing July 10.

Teachers take sides

That&#8217;s when they learned for the first time that numerous teachers in the school district wrote to the court to plead for a lenient sentence for their colleague. They were shocked to see several teachers &#8211; and school board member Mike Eagan &#8211; sitting across the courtroom with the sex offender&#8217;s family.

&#8220;Neal made a mistake,&#8221; teacher Sally Campbell wrote to the judge, according to the Ogemaw County Herald. &#8220;He allowed a mutual friendship to develop into much more. He realized his mistake and ended it years before someone anonymously sent something in to the authorities which began this legal process.&#8221;

Does the first amendment protect a teacher's job when it comes to something like this?

They are all members of the same union, the NEA. That's how unions work.

The ones writing to 'the court' should be charged with obstruction of justice.

 

[martybegan]

There is no excuse for a teacher sexually assaulting a minor.

None.

Period.

No rationalizations.

No past precedents about early marriage; throwbacks to a time of high mortality all around.

No excuses accepted.

The Perp needs to be pinned to the wall, using The Law.

And those teaching colleagues who sided with him for Leniency purposes deserve to be bitch-slapped for choosing the wrong side and for their stupidity and insensitivity in making such a choice, vis a vis the students entrusted to them and the worried parents who watched all this unfold.

What the teachers did was Morally and Ethically Wrong.

They had a Legal RIGHT to do so, but, it was Morally and Ethically Wrong, nonetheless, and speaks volumes about Blind, Unthinking Labor Solidarity, even amongst supposedly well-educated people.

Because those teachers chose to align with a true Evil-Doer rather than their Charges and their Parents, I, for one, wish each and every one of those teachers, a suitable and fitting karmic experience, with respect to their careers, as payment for their despicable choice and action in supporting that convicted Bottom-Feeder.

Everyone is aware of what the rules are in our current society. The molester knew the rules he was breaking, and the people supporting him knew the rules as well.