So, in the wake of the Debra LeFave case, in teacher molestation cases how much does the gender of a victim have to do with the punishment of the perpetrator?

While I fully realize that LeFave would have most likely received prison time had the teenage boy been willing to testify against her, I find it curious that she got off with house arrest, while as the linked article points out, a male teacher who molested a young girl got five years in prison. The husband has, in the past, commented that this was most likely not molestation because, well, boys and girls are different. As he says, "You can't rape the willing," meaning teenage boys are walking hard-ons and that they're pretty much always up for it. (pun intended) They wouldn't be traumatized by having sex with their teacher; they'd be proud of it. And if you'll notice in the article, the victim did not want to testify because of the "media frenzy" surrounding the case, while any trauma sustained pretty much went unmentioned. Take what you will from that.

Which leads us back to the original question: how much does the gender of a victim of teacher molestation have to do with the punishment of the perpetrator?

And, to take it up a notch, are we kidding ourselves when we say that the molestation of a teenaged boy by an adult woman is the same as the molestation of a teenaged girl by an adult man?

I don't know. I believe this boy was molested. I don't believe adults should be having sex with fourteen-year-olds, no matter what gender. I think she should have been put in prison for the same amount of time as that male teacher was. I also think LeFave should also have to register with the state as a pedophile, because that's what she is. I believe in equality under the law, and that means equal punishments as well as rights.

What say you?

Posted by: Kathy at 11:26 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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