Florida
teacher statutory rape case closes, doubts
linger
Jamie
Rowe
Move
over, Mary Kay Letourneau. There’s
a new teacher in the media spotlight. Whether
it’s because of her remarkable beauty,
her claims of being bipolar, or just the
public’s fascination with the case
of a female middle school teacher having
a sexual relationship with her student,
Debra Lafave’s story has drawn quite
a bit of buzz.
The most recent debate centers on her punishment — three years of house
arrest and seven years of probation. While it does seem like a slap on the
wrist, is it worth so much of the media’s attention? I think not.
Some think there is a double standards issue in this case. If Lafave were a
disgusting looking man, the public would have already found him guilty before
he ever went to trial, but we are dealing with a beautiful person. Male or
female, this outer shell distracts people from looking at the facts of the
case.
The truth is anyone can be a sex offender. A person should not be found guilty
before he or she has gone to trial and all the facts have been looked at, including
consent.
It’s not a matter of did the 14 year old want to have sex, but of the
age of consent laws. This is a case of statutory rape, not rape by force or
coercion. The legal age of consent in Florida is 18 (just as it is in California).
The important thing here is how the legal system defines consent and how it
deems if a person is able to give consent.
In this case, the boy was not able to give consent. He is too young and does
not possess the legal capacity to make that decision for himself.
Lafave should have known better as an adult. She was an authority figure and
we don’t know if the boy felt he had to have sex with her. If she had
abused her powers as a teacher, she absolutely deserves to serve jail time.
The boy decided not to testify, thus the prosecutors could not present all
the facts to give Lafave a jail sentence. While the plea bargain does not seem
like enough to some, it’s better than nothing.
A psychiatrist found the boy suffered extreme anxiety about the media coverage,
according to an Associated Press article. The psychology behind the victim’s
mentality is complex and no one should blame this boy for not wanting to go
on the stand.
Depending on the situation because we don’t know all the facts of the
facts, he could be doubting himself, thinking he asked for it, or afraid he
has hurt the woman he loved. The parents in this case are doing the right thing.
The mother is doing her best to protect her child.
Finally, we have Lafave’s explanation for her actions. She’s bipolar,
she claims. Bipolar is a serious disorder, not an excuse for poor judgment.
She may very well have this disorder, but I hardly doubt it is to blame. According
to the National Institute of Mental Health’s Web site, bipolar disorder
symptoms do include an increased sex drive and a lasting period of behavior
that is different from the usual.
If she were suffering from this disorder, someone else would have noticed other
strange behaviors, like constant spending or numerous incidents of fatigue.
Having sex with a child is not a way to get help for a mental disorder.
Lafave said she wants to get married, but according to another ABC article, “Ex-husband:
Debra Lafave was inappropriately smug” if she has children, she won’t
be allowed unsupervised contact because she is a sex offender.
It’s time Lafave takes responsibility for her actions. She should be
thanking her lucky stars she’s not working the laundry rooms in a county
jail.
Jamie Rowe is a senior journalism major and the editor in chief of the
Daily Forty-Niner.
|
