Female Teacher Gets Jail Time for Sex Crime

Submitted by anthony on Sun, 2007-02-11 17:19

Story here. Excerpt:

"Sarah Dickerson, 26, now of Morton, was charged last July with five counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The former Spanish teacher was accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male student.
...
Judge Kevin Fitzgerald sentenced Dickerson to 180 days in jail and 48 months of probation. She must pay a $2,500 fine and restitution to the victim’s family for counseling fees."

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Comments

... is their proximity in ages-- she is 26, he is 17. Yet she got jailed. That is definitely progress. Before, the boy would have to be, I'd say, under 16 for a 26 YO female to get jailed for her actions. Glad to see she is getting jailed, just like a man would under the same conditions. But alas, the press uses that word again, "relationship", to describe what happened.

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Submitted by mcc99 on Sun, 2007-02-11 23:12

A man convicted of statutory rape in Illinois will typically receive a 12-year prison sentence.

We'll know real gender neutral reform in the law is happening when "engulfment" is the same as "penetration" and when gross disparities in punishment between the genders for the same crimes have been eliminated.

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Submitted by Roy on Sun, 2007-02-11 23:40

it's about 70/30 in favor of the teacher having done nothing or at the very most very little wrong. The majority of the comments defend the teacher and spew all the typical myths. Very disappointing.

Things like: Boys are horny, boys want it, he drove to her house, he's probably still high fiving his friends, mommas boy, are rampant in the comments.

Then people wonder why male victims are so reluctant to testify. Gee I wonder, could it have anything to do with the fact that much of society is going to blame them for the whole thing?

I am all for redressing the laws a little to make the age factor in cases like this regardless of the genders of the participants not illegal (In Canada - where the legal age of consent s 14 - this already wouldn't have been illegal except for the fact that she is a teacher which would have made it a crime).

I agree with Canada's laws in this respect. I would say that in most circumstances - where the older person is not our boss or your teacher - there is no lasting damage or trauma for either boys or girls at that age.

I wouldn't call a man or a woman who engaged in sex with a 17 year old a pedophile or dangerous to the general public.

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Submitted by Paragon on Mon, 2007-02-12 16:14