I think this article on cbsnews.com (linked behind the title of my post) really speaks for itself. Imagine if this were your 14 year old daughter or son. Click the link above to read the full article.
(CBS) Now that state prosecutors have dropped charges against Debra Lafave in Marion County, Fla., it appears the former teacher won’t be spending any time in jail for allegedly having sex several times with a 14-year-old student.
On The Early Show Wednesday, CBS News legal analyst and former prosecutor Wendy Murphy called that “jaw-dropping.”
Lafave faces three years of house arrest and seven years probation in Hillsborough County, Fla., where she was charged with having sex with the teen in a classroom and her home. She pleaded guilty Nov. 22 to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery under a plea deal there.
In Marion County, she was accused of having sex with the boy in a sport utility vehicle.
The decision to drop the charges was announced hours after a judge rejected a plea deal for Lafave in Marion County.
It means the teen won’t have to testify, something his family was pushing for and that prosecutors cited as the main factor in their decision to drop the charges in Marion County.
Watch RAW video of Lafave’s reaction to having the charges against her dropped.
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Technorati Tags: Homeschooling, Reasons, Media, Florida, Prosecution, Judicial, Kids, Child Predators, School, Legal System, Rape, Crime, News, Children, Parenting
Although I’m not sure it’s a reason to homeschool (since it is rare), it is certainly a reason to be upset about the sentencing. Here in Ohio we have a man who raped two small boys who got no jail time. The judge wanted him “to get help.”
Hi Norma! Thanks for your comment. Yes, I am certainly upset about the verdict. I happen to know some people with bi-polar disorder, and it is a slap in the face to hear she was considering using that as a defense. If she did the crime, she should get the time… and I don’t think anyone doubts that it happened.
As for not being a reason to homeschool… I’m not sure I agree there. Although not all parents are fit to homeschool (because there are some bad parents in the world, just like bad teachers), I think that overall, there are many who SHOULD be homeschooling.
Here’s a more well-rounded story that may help you see what many in the homeschool community already know or suspect:
Lots of abuses in so little time!…. and here’s a snip from the article:
“Accused teachers represent a small percentage of our nation’s educators. But those who do abuse students often abuse more than one, and the damage they do can be devastating.
The Post-Gazette has examined 727 cases across the U.S. in which an educator has lost his or her license for sex offenses during the past five years, and has found some disturbing trends.”
MORE ON SEXUAL ASSAULT:
Rape statistics may be a lot higher than we think.
It’s scary that such a small percentage of rapists get prosecuted and found guilty compared to number of rapes reported.
According to the 2003 Annual School Safety Report:
• Most crime reported in schools is theft, not violent crime.
• The overall violent crime rate for children ages 12-18 declined from 48 per 1,000 students in 1992 to 28 per 1,000 in 2001.
That’s still 28 in every 1,000 children who are exposed to violent crime in American public schools (or on their way there and back home). And that’s 2001. Where’s the data for 2004, 5 and 6? I couldn’t find any on the net tonight.
Here’s a good way to keep up with sex offender headlines:
Sexcriminals.com
Most useful of all, here are a few good sites where you can check out your area and see if there are any registered offenders on your street:
Childsafenetwork.org
Criminalcheck.com
And… here is the list of the FBI’s sex offender list links by STATE.
Isn’t this repulsive?? I keep seeing this on the news and literally thanking God I’m in a position to homeschool the boys.
By the way, how are you? I missed seeing you and your kiddos today. 🙂
Hugs,
Amanda
This is absolutely sickening. I actually heard someone on a news program (can’t remember which one) say something about this woman being “too pretty to put in jail”. Oh really? Maybe that’s what got her into this mess in the first place. Maybe she’s always been told that she’s too pretty to get in trouble, and she has come to expect this kind of leniency. Outrageous.
I understand the first persons comment to your post… I do homeschool, and reasons such as they certainly solidify my determination to do so… however, I wouldn’t necessarily consider it a reason to homeschool… mainly because its even more prevalent in the home/with relatives.
As someone who was sexually abused for the first 12 years of my life by relatives… and not in the school… I could say THAT would be a reason to keep kids out of the home, and I don’t think that is a good/correct blanket statement either.
All that said, my Dh read this topic on the neil boortz site a week or so?? ago and we had actually been discussing the ridiculousness of the whole thing. There are links on Neil’s site to articles about numerous other sentencings just like this. It made my head spin with the stupidity of the justice system. I can’t see how in this day and age its just “okay” to get away with this without so much as a slap on the wrist.
And BTW ~ I love your site, and I hope this didn’t come across rude or anything… I very much love reading what you have to say and generally agree with it all!:)
Amanda: Yes, I thought I would see you today, but you weren’t there. 🙁
Bug: You don’t have to tell me! I can’t believe it. Some guy on the internet has a photo of her in a bra and underwear on a motorcycle. So sick! She’s some kind of sex-cult icon now.
Byn: No problem in disagreeing. I understand that there are many people out there that just are not comfortable with homeschooling. I don’t agree that all public schools are bad, just like I don’t agree that homeschooling is for everyone. I’m not one of those “DO AWAY WITH ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS!” type homeschoolers. I think that many are in need of some overhauling, and parents should have a lot more SAY about what is taught and how… but that aside, I know that MOST teachers are not child predators. You put it very well when you said that incidents like this “solidify” your “determination” to homeschool. That’s a nicer, gentler way to say it. What I really mean by saying this is a reason to homeschool is that we should all be aware that this is not an isolated case, and that especially since people like this can “get off scott free” in today’s society… more moms who are teetering with the idea of homeschooling should have even more reason to do so. I think one of the main reasons many moms don’t homeschool who have considered it is that they feel they aren’t qualified, or as in my case, they are financially strapped.