19 May 2009

Teacher was 'good looking': student tells court

| Bundah_Bloke
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Local ABC reports that the ACT Supreme Court has heard a student who allegedly had sex with a female teacher thought the 43-year-old was good looking.

Former St Francis Xavier College science teacher Tania Tominac is accused of having sex with the 14-year-old at least five times in 2005.

The alleged victim – who is now 18 – told the court on a number of occasions they went to her house and had sex in her bedroom, as well as at his house and in her school office.

Perhaps she should use a defense, such as she was undertaking private science lessons that got out of hand?!?

After all, stranger more far fetched defenses have won in other cases.

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Skidbladnir said :

Statutory rape is still a crime.

43 year old man + 14 year old boy = massive controversy, committed mobs carrying pitchforks and screaming for blood, and criminal charges.
43 year old man + 14 year old girl = slightly less controversy, smaller crowd carrying gardening tools, criminal charges.
43 year old woman + 14 year old boy = congratulatory crowd standing around saying “Lucky boy, she was up for it and a bit of a hottie”?

14 really does go into 43 easier than 43 goes into 14…

Best post ever!!

from the media reporting of this matter it seems the evidence suggests she is as guilty as David Eastman.

Sorry Skid. I did see where you were going. I was not commenting on what you said but on the assumption of other commenters that because she was charged she was necessarily guilty. Sarcasm on your part but not intentionally on mine.

Carlito said :

Okay, i want to make a few things clear. For starters most teenagers dream to get it on with their teacher. This particular teenager just had the blind, stupid and brave personality to actually go for it, mixed with the stupidity of his teacher it was a perfect match, good on them, problem is it was illegal. There was no ‘rape’, the teacher seduced the boy, the boy seduced the teacher, they both wanted it but the teacher should have known better. So from the boys perspective it makes sense.. he enjoyed it then, bragged about it, what average boy wouldn’t but now hes either pissed at catching an STD or he wants money. In my view he shouldn’t get it, but as for punishment to the teacher i cant say anything really i’m not a judge, but ill be happy if they want to lock her up in my place.

I’m just tired of the media making a big deal about it, if it wasn’t illegal there would be cases of this all the time, sorry to those people who think its crazy older people get attracted to younger people. People get desperate, people also get attracted, easily.

Seriously consider this, this is a freak case where the male involved turned around and abused his relationship(although illegal still) with the woman, there will likely not be many other boys so cold hearted in the future to do this. For the note i’m just speaking from an angle that people who are shocked from this story need to realize is true.

After reading my post there will be lots of parents changing to home schooling.

This is either a really P**s ppor troll or you truly are incredibly stupid Carlito. Regardless of the circumstances of this specific case, I hope she is innocent for both their sakes, but in any case… any relationship where an adult has sex with a child is an abuse of trust you can’t justify it with the psuedo-psycho-babble crap you are spouting. “There was no ‘rape’, the teacher seduced the boy, the boy seduced the teacher, … ” FFS, you are a tool.

I should have included a /sarcasm, evidently.

(I am not saying that only cases where the defendant is guilty ever make trial)

Skidbladnir said :

Well yes, assuming that there is evidence to support a case.
But we have a fully functioning DPP who is able to prevent mistakes ever making trial, don’t we?

And if we do let’s not bother with a trial, just have a sentencing hearing. And I suppose no acquitted person has ever been innocent.

peterh said :

not in canberra it isn’t.

Oh snap

Skidbladnir said :

Well yes, assuming that there is evidence to support a case.
But we have a fully functioning DPP who is able to prevent mistakes ever making trial, don’t we?

and stellar examples of justices?

Well yes, assuming that there is evidence to support a case.
But we have a fully functioning DPP who is able to prevent mistakes ever making trial, don’t we?

Peewee Slasher said :

It’s a trial. No one has been convicted of a crime yet. The teacher may be innocent. The student may be telling the truth.

I’ll wait to see the finding of the court.

It’s called the justice system.

not in canberra it isn’t.

Peewee Slasher2:27 pm 26 May 09

It’s a trial. No one has been convicted of a crime yet. The teacher may be innocent. The student may be telling the truth.

I’ll wait to see the finding of the court.

It’s called the justice system.

However, she was a good teacher and it would be extremely unfortunate if these claims are false.

Truth, yes, innocence should be presumed until a verdict is taken, and wether or not the child is a ‘compulsive liar,’ these allegations should not be taken lightly as they are a serious breach of a teacher’s trust and their responsibility for duty of care.

While she is ‘an attractive woman, who takes pride in how she dresses,’ I am inclined to point out that some attire is not appropriate for a school teacher, or anyone for that matter, to wear to their place of work. Let alone a catholic school where the students dress regulations are extremely regimented.

Funnily enough this isn’t the first time this type of allegation has been made as SFX.

If any of you interested folk actually knew the teacher, the principal or merely investigated the situation further than what the media fed you, maybe your opinions wouldnt seem so ridiculous.She is an attarctive woman who takes pride in the way she dresses. wearing fashionable clothing does not make her guilty. neither does gossip and a web of lies. Just because the HAPPILY MARRIED MOTHER OF THREE is accused of something seriously wrong by some compulsive liar does not mean we should all assume she has raped a kid who happened to be of the same age as one of her children! this is merely a witch hunt led by an upcoming wannabe detective looking for his first break.
innocent until proven guilty.

i would have been stoked to get anywhere near this stunner at such a young age! Well done that young man!

Actually, since the teacher pleaded not guilty, I’ve been wondering if there is a chance she didn’t do it. In which case the court case and publicity must be tough.

I don’t see how they can prove this one either way – it was 4 years ago, the teacher says she didn’t do anything, the student says she did.

The teacher’s main failing seems to be tight clothing. The boy seems to have issues with reliability and drugs/alcohol.

I’m glad I’m no the judge in this one.

Okay, i want to make a few things clear. For starters most teenagers dream to get it on with their teacher. This particular teenager just had the blind, stupid and brave personality to actually go for it, mixed with the stupidity of his teacher it was a perfect match, good on them, problem is it was illegal. There was no ‘rape’, the teacher seduced the boy, the boy seduced the teacher, they both wanted it but the teacher should have known better. So from the boys perspective it makes sense.. he enjoyed it then, bragged about it, what average boy wouldn’t but now hes either pissed at catching an STD or he wants money. In my view he shouldn’t get it, but as for punishment to the teacher i cant say anything really i’m not a judge, but ill be happy if they want to lock her up in my place.

I’m just tired of the media making a big deal about it, if it wasn’t illegal there would be cases of this all the time, sorry to those people who think its crazy older people get attracted to younger people. People get desperate, people also get attracted, easily.

Seriously consider this, this is a freak case where the male involved turned around and abused his relationship(although illegal still) with the woman, there will likely not be many other boys so cold hearted in the future to do this. For the note i’m just speaking from an angle that people who are shocked from this story need to realize is true.

After reading my post there will be lots of parents changing to home schooling.

My point was that he actually breaks the law by not reporting it. Its not a could or should thing. Its something he HAS to do

vg said :

Sorry, and remiss of me to forget, but under mandatory reporting of child abuse laws in the ACT he actually HAS to report it. So he’s only doing what he has to do.

Nothing remarkable at all

Again, VG, just because they should it doesn’t mean they do. I know of Headmasters saying “well, we could go to the police but we’d prefer to handle it internally” and other Headasters when asked about reports of sexual abuse at their schools simply using the old chestnut “I don’t remember” excuse to bury everything.

Personally, Id rather praise someone for doing a good job rather than wait for the exception to arise and then start having a ‘dig’. To bring it closer to your own experience – it’s like the AFP, I’ll praise them every time when I see or hear of them doing something good, even though it can be considered to be them just doing their job. This is much more preferable to me than simply taking them for granted then commenting when one does something stupid, which can be taken as tarring them/you all with the same brush.

Clown Killer11:12 pm 19 May 09

I’m with BerraBoy68. profesionally, I’ve spun too much crap in my life to know that there’s a way to manage a bunch of ugly business. Sometimes your gut just says ‘give this up and see what others outside of my sphere of influence make of it’. If you’ve really been in that position, you know that it takes balls to do that.

Our children, your children, my children are too precious to risk to these monsters.

#65 – Granny, oh yes, for some inexplicable reason I momentarily forgot this is in the ACT.

monomania said :

Clown Killer said :

…the Principle of St Francis is an excellent example of the great Headmaster and leader. I understand that as soon as an allegation of sexual abuse was made at his school … he was straight on the phone to the police. No ‘internal investigations’ or excuses. Well Done Mr Tulley

Well done indeed. We could do with more people who aren’t afraid to take action and to weather the consequences in order to weed out these monsters.

Well of course all he was doing was complying with the law that requires mandatory notification of abuse. Of course he would have knowledge of the teacher(s) and student(s) involved and may have had no trouble believing that there was no need to at least talk to the teacher’s immediate supervisor on an informal basis before picking up the phone, not something I would imagine which could be considered an internal investigation.

History shows us not all Headmaster have acted so properly, monomania.

Clown Killer said :

…the Principle of St Francis is an excellent example of the great Headmaster and leader. I understand that as soon as an allegation of sexual abuse was made at his school … he was straight on the phone to the police. No ‘internal investigations’ or excuses. Well Done Mr Tulley

Well done indeed. We could do with more people who aren’t afraid to take action and to weather the consequences in order to weed out these monsters.

Well of course all he was doing was complying with the law that requires mandatory notification of abuse. Of course he would have knowledge of the teacher(s) and student(s) involved and may have had no trouble believing that there was no need to at least talk to the teacher’s immediate supervisor on an informal basis before picking up the phone, not something I would imagine which could be considered an internal investigation.

I find it interesting that Mr Tulley applied for, but was unsuccessful in being appointed as, Headmaster of Marist College a few years ago. No offence to Mr Sidorko but it would have been interesting having Angus at Marist in recent years after his recent excellent example.

grunge_hippy8:52 pm 19 May 09

we need more principals to step up and have some balls to deal with these and many other issues instead of being scared of parental backlash.

And that should have been thanks to ‘Ian’. I have no idea who ‘Jim’ is….

Ian said :

#60 BerraBoy68 – not only that but he informed the school community via letter that allegations had been made and were being dealt with by the police. In fact we also got a letter last week indicating the matter would be in court this week, reminding us that it was the earlier incident (not a new one) which was now working its way through the judicial process.

Thanks Jim. He certainly is a good role model for his students.

I would probably fall over and die of shock if anybody got gaol actually.

#60 BerraBoy68 – not only that but he informed the school community via letter that allegations had been made and were being dealt with by the police. In fact we also got a letter last week indicating the matter would be in court this week, reminding us that it was the earlier incident (not a new one) which was now working its way through the judicial process.

#59, Granny – undoubtedly a male teacher would get worse and probably jail. Not saying its right she will most likely get a lighter sentence, but thats how I think it will indeed pan out.

Sorry, and remiss of me to forget, but under mandatory reporting of child abuse laws in the ACT he actually HAS to report it. So he’s only doing what he has to do.

Nothing remarkable at all

Berra Boy

5yos ring up the Police and report crimes.

What allegedly happened is a crime. It is his duty to do so and, to be honest, not that remarkable. A remarkable thing would not be to report it.

Not having a go at you, but its a sad day when we pat someone on the back for doing what they should

Clown Killer7:50 pm 19 May 09

…the Principle of St Francis is an excellent example of the great Headmaster and leader. I understand that as soon as an allegation of sexual abuse was made at his school … he was straight on the phone to the police. No ‘internal investigations’ or excuses. Well Done Mr Tulley

Well done indeed. We could do with more people who aren’t afraid to take action and to weather the consequences in order to weed out these monsters.

As someone with more than just a passing interest in sexual abuse of students by teachers, as regular Rioters would know, I’m appalled by this story and yet another lleged sexual abuse of a student. It doesn’t matter if it was male-female, female male, male-male or female-female combination. The sexual abuse of a student by a teacher is both morally and criminally wrong.

I’m also intrigued that no-one here has yet mentioned the alleged mental abuse inflicted on the student by this teacher. I refer to the alleged statement that teacher would kill herself if the student told anyone what was going on. This practice of making threats puts the responsibility onto the student/victim of maintaining the abuse – lest they suffer more. A typical and despicable tactic of peadophiles.

On related matters… the Principle of St Francis is an excellent example of the great Headmaster and leader. I understand that as soon as an allegation of sexual abuse was made at his school (I can’t recall if it was this matter or another one – sorry) he was straight on the phone to the police. No ‘internal investigations’ or excuses. Well Done Mr Tulley!

kizzamenizza7:25 pm 19 May 09

I go to SFX and I had her for a teacher a few times and for my year co-ordinator once. she was a good teacher… for the teaching science part… I heard that the boy was in the same grade as Tominacs daughter. and she was at SFX at the time too.
hmmm… but thats just gossip

Ian said :

#54 – she’ll get a bond. Her career as a teacher is already screwed, she’s hardly likely to be a risk to other boys – judge will say she’s been punished enough.

And if the teacher were male?

My son goes to SFX. He told me he only had her once. He then clarified that he meant as a teacher for one class.

#55 – I’ve been thinking that. I’d have thought the prim librarian look might have been the go for court. Glasses, hair tied back, conservative dress etc.

#54 – she’ll get a bond. Her career as a teacher is already screwed, she’s hardly likely to be a risk to other boys – judge will say she’s been punished enough.

mutton dressed as lamb applies to this one.

grunge_hippy6:51 pm 19 May 09

not that it makes any difference, but she certainly doesnt dress like any science teacher I had at school or any teacher I have seen in my 10 years in the profession. perhaps she was tarting/dressing up for court.

I would think dressing a bit more demurely would have been the go if you were facing these kind of charges….

Oh, I doubt she’ll be convicted.

Of course she must be guilty. She is pleading innocent but this post has her convicted. It’s a sad situation for everybody involved especially the families of both people.
There are sufficient cases where a teacher is guilty of such an offense to believe that it often isn’t a simple matter of sexual predator and victim. In the case of the older person there could be problems of mental illness such as mania or arrested development that leads them into these inappropriate, harmful and illegal relationships.
It is not so much that they are in a position of power as it might be in a work situation but that they have a duty of care in the same way as a medical practioner like a psychiatrist would have to others in their care.

It’s all about perspectives and cultural norms. There’s a lot of countries where such an incident would be perfectly legal. Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy and China are all countries where the age of consent is 14 or lower.

Just thought I’d point that out.

(ii) the defendant was not more than 2 years older;

so 14 goes into 15 and 15 goes into 14
but at 16.5 it gets interesting…

vg said :

Statutory rape is a crime in America

Not specifically identified by the name “statutory rape” in the ACT, but its the same idea.

Skidbladnir said :

Statutory rape is still a crime.

43 year old man + 14 year old boy = massive controversy, committed mobs carrying pitchforks and screaming for blood, and criminal charges.
43 year old man + 14 year old girl = slightly less controversy, smaller crowd carrying gardening tools, criminal charges.
43 year old woman + 14 year old boy = congratulatory crowd standing around saying “Lucky boy, she was up for it and a bit of a hottie”?

14 really does go into 43 easier than 43 goes into 14…

Statutory rape is a crime in America

Yes Sepi – yes. Very well said.

I don’t see any grey area at all.

This kid was 14, doing normal 14 year old things, with kids his own age.

Suddenly he is sleeping with his 43 year old teacher. She holds all the cards in this ‘relationship’ and he could not possibly have the experience to realise if their relationship and sex life is in any way normal or not.

He can never go back to hanging around with teenage girls and having a pash behind the bike sheds.

His life has now deviated from the developmental curve it should have taken, and he can never get that back.

It isn’t about ‘morals’ (people always bring up morals when they want to make out everyone else is a prude). It is a crime. End of story.

Postalgeek said :

This is a grey, grey issue.

I am purely an armchair lawyer, but welcome to Crimes Act, and Registered Sex Offender territory.
Find the loopholes in the below, without claiming “I, as his teacher, and he being one of the students under my care, had no idea he was 14 at the time, your honour.”
There is no relevance of impact statements to the requirements.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/act/consol_act/ca190082/s50.html
CRIMES ACT 1900:
Section 50: Meaning of sexual intercourse
In this part:
“sexual intercourse” means— (pretty much anything that involves contact)

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/act/consol_act/ca190082/s55.html
CRIMES ACT 1900:
Section 55: Sexual intercourse with young person
(1) is about crimes with children under the age of 10, not relevant to this discussion
(2) A person who engages in sexual intercourse with another person who is under the age of 16 years is guilty of an offence punishable, on conviction, by imprisonment for 14 years.
(3) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (2) if the defendant establishes that—
(a) he or she believed on reasonable grounds that the person on whom the offence is alleged to have been committed was of or above the age of 16 years; or
(b)at the time of the alleged offence—
(i) the person on whom the offence is alleged to have been committed was of or above the age of 10 years; and
(ii) the defendant was not more than 2 years older;
and that that person consented to the sexual intercourse.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/act/consol_act/ca190082/s56.html
CRIMES ACT 1900:
Section 56: Maintaining a sexual relationship with young person
(1) In this section:
“sexual act” means an act that constitutes an offence against this part, but does not include an act referred to in section 55 (2) or 61 (2) if the person who committed the act establishes the matters referred to in section 55 (3) or 61 (3), as the case may be, that would be a defence if the person had been charged with an offence against section 55 (2) or 61 (2), as the case may be.
“young person” means a person who is under the age of 16 years.
If you are curious, Section 61 (2) and (3) are about acts of indecency on children.

(2) A person who, being an adult, maintains a sexual relationship with a young person is guilty of an offence.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/act/consol_act/csoa2005241/
CRIMES (CHILD SEX OFFENDERS) ACT 2005 – SECT 10
What is a registrable offence?
(1) In this Act:
“registrable offence” means—
(a) a class 1 offence; or
(b) a class 2 offence; or
(c) in relation to a person for whom a child sex offender registration order is made…

(2) A class 1 offence is an offence mentioned in schedule 1, part 1.1 or part 1.2, column 2, committed in the circumstances (if any) mentioned in column 4 for the offence.
(EG: Crimes Act 1900 , any offence covered by the Act, and the offence involved sexual intercourse (as defined in the Crimes Act 1900 , section 50) with a child

justbands said :

It’s not a grey area at all. She’s a teacher who had sex with a 14yo student. That’s a crime. He’s the victim of that crime. Many have asked, none have answered…would you all have the same opinions if it were a 43yo male teacher & a 14yo female student.

or if it was a 43yo male teacher and a 14yo male student.

she taught me science…. very creeptastic….

colourful sydney racing identity3:12 pm 19 May 09

justbands said :

It’s not a grey area at all. She’s a teacher who had sex with a 14yo student. That’s a crime. He’s the victim of that crime. Many have asked, none have answered…would you all have the same opinions if it were a 43yo male teacher & a 14yo female student.

Or a 43yo male teacher and a 14yo male student.

Victim impact statement.

It’s not a grey area at all. She’s a teacher who had sex with a 14yo student. That’s a crime. He’s the victim of that crime. Many have asked, none have answered…would you all have the same opinions if it were a 43yo male teacher & a 14yo female student.

This is a grey, grey issue. I’d pay more attention to the boy’s impact statement, rather than whack a ‘victim’ label on him whether he wants it or not. Case by case.

What’s the goal here? To string someone up as a message, to make the kid feel like a victim, to foster long term feelings of regret in him for having mentioned the relationship? Without condoning it these questions need to be asked.

There are some black and white moral agendas at work, and people are kidding themselves if they think it’s all in the best interest of the ‘victim’.

FC said :

NiroZ said :

Tests have shown that despite what most people think, and older male having sex with an underage female & older male having sex with an underage male show the same traumatic effects. It is not having an older woman takeing a teenager ‘under her wing’.

Please lead us to these ‘tests’

I sincerely hope that they weren’t conducted by the new Catholic Public Policy Institute.

NiroZ said :

Tests have shown that despite what most people think, and older male having sex with an underage female & older male having sex with an underage male show the same traumatic effects. It is not having an older woman takeing a teenager ‘under her wing’.

Please lead us to these ‘tests’

Tests have shown that despite what most people think, and older male having sex with an underage female & older male having sex with an underage male show the same traumatic effects. It is not having an older woman takeing a teenager ‘under her wing’.

Clown Killer2:15 pm 19 May 09

Granny, you are too cheeky!

GregW said :

Bah, where did the idea come from that 14 year olds are incapable of making educated decisions for themselves. Sure we all see enough of the 14 year olds at the tail end of evolution hanging around Malls to justify this conclusion, but surely it is easy to see that this quickly degenerates into the same stereotyping that is typical of discrimination issues (Racism et al.) If 14 years are old enough to go to jail, they are old enough to have consentual sex with whoever they please.

Also, regret at a later age is meaningless, it happens at all ages.

GregW, are you Greg from Ragless Circuit in Kambah perchance?

I would like to send my kids to a school where they aren’t considered sexual prey by ANY of their teachers. Is that too much to expect?

The gender of the teacher/student is irrelevant to the case here, and it is unfathomable to me that some posters consider that the kid was ‘lucky’. I wonder if those same posters would be similarly impressed were the teacher also a male or the student a female?

This reminds me of the time i had a little “Sandwich action” with one of my mates and a teacher, we all had a good time and the teacher often had more than a mouthfull and nearly choked a few times.

God, I loved making sandwiches in Home Economics…….

chewy14 said :

Bahh,
The boy should be charged with something.
Everyone knows that a 14 year old boy can’t be sexually abused by a female teacher.
He was using her.

fishing…

Bahh,
The boy should be charged with something.
Everyone knows that a 14 year old boy can’t be sexually abused by a female teacher.
He was using her.

The arbitrary nature of our statutory rape laws are a terrible thing however I have as yet not come up with a better way of building the concept of ‘informed consent’ into sex laws without using an arbitrary number.

This is only part of the issue at hand of course. If the boy had been 18 it still would have been illegal. She was in a position of authority.

If you want to get a sense of the unequal nature of the relationship, imagine what Tania Tominac and the student had to talk about in the part of their relationship that wasn’t about sex (if there was one). How many interests and experiences can a 14 year old have to share with a woman in her 40’s?

Tania: “My father’s developing Alzheimer’s.”

Student: “My father grounded me for not mowing the lawn.”

Tania: “Have you taken out private super on top of what your employer provides?”

Student: “Have you got a spare charger for my Wii?”

Tania: “How come you never take me to a nice restaurant for a candle-lit dinner?”

Student: “How come you won’t buy me a new mobile phone. All the other kids have one.”

Tania: “Let’s take a romantic moonight stroll around the lake.”

Student: “Can I stay up to watch Harper’s Island?”

Jim Jones said :

So, motleychick: presumably you think it’s okay for 43-year-old male teachers to have sex with their 14 year old female students.

very good point, would like to see a response to this…

Without meaning to be crude – In a purely “in the act” sense. I find it hard to imagine the enjoyment of being with someone so much younger.
I am so glad to be out of the awkward, fumbling stage and not having to (generally) tell partners where to put what and what button is where etc.

The onus is always on the teacher to never engage with this, and to ensure that the student/teacher relationship is properly maintained, no matter how much they might feel tempted or how much it may seem like the student was ‘up for it’.

I think this sentence sums it up perfectly. 14 year olds can have all the sex they want, so long as they can find another 14 year old who wants to as well. I don’t recall it ever occurring to me to hit on 43 year olds when I was 14.

The arbitrary nature of our statutory rape laws are a terrible thing however I have as yet not come up with a better way of building the concept of ‘informed consent’ into sex laws without using an arbitrary number.

Here’s a question: Which came first. FC and Justband’s victims who got screwed up which led to the law; or the law that told FC and Justband’s victims that they were victims and screwed them up?

Probably a bit of both really.

Inappropriate11:24 am 19 May 09

punkarella said :

I wonder about the kinds of people that are attracted to 14 year old kids. Is it a power thing?

My guess it’s partly due to the taboo nature of the relationship which makes it all the more thrilling.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy said :

I think occasionally people are attracted ‘inappropriately’. How people act is what counts, however.

Talk to a few teachers over (more than) a few beers – people are attracted ‘inappropriately’ all the time.

Some young male teachers I’ve talked to seem to have a particularly hard time of it (no pun intended). If they’re young and good looking, then they can be idolised by the girls, who play up their developing sexuality and flirt in all sorts of ways. Obviously the girls aren’t intending to start anything – it’s an opportunity for them to engage in a bit of ‘play’ in a safe environment.

The onus is always on the teacher to never engage with this, and to ensure that the student/teacher relationship is properly maintained, no matter how much they might feel tempted or how much it may seem like the student was ‘up for it’.

I am innappropiately attracted to people fairly often (not 14 year olds though) but I think this is fairly natural.
I also realise that this doesn’t mean I should go an form a relationship with everyone I’m attracted to either.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy10:56 am 19 May 09

I think occasionally people are attracted ‘inappropriately’. How people act is what counts, however.

I wonder about the kinds of people that are attracted to 14 year old kids. Is it a power thing?
I mean, they have at least enough intelligence to get a university degree in teaching, so one could say that they have certain knowledge in social responsibility/their role in the community and passed courses in teacher/student relationships..So what makes them snap?

AngryHenry said :

A Noisy Noise Annoys An Oyster said :

Had to laugh when the story referred to the 14 year old as a “victim”. Victim? He would have loved the whole thing, and good on him I say.

Well that’s the dumbest thing I’ve read so far today.

and the day is young.

Amazing, that this kind of thing goes on. when i was a lad, teachers were feared, not lusted after. And there were plenty of cute young things the same age around to break a boy’s heart…

GregW said :

Bah, where did the idea come from that 14 year olds are incapable of making educated decisions for themselves.

It’s possible that somewhere in the world a 14 year old exists who IS capable of making educated decisions. I’ve never met one, and I doubt that Greg W has had much contact with 14 year-olds, particularly as a parent, or he wouldn’t be making such wild, outlandish claims completely unsupported by any scientific evidence. Even the rare few who are capable of making occasional informed decisions for themselves in some parts of their lives struggle to exercise this ability consistently.

GregW, have you ever had to deal with a 14 year-old in love for the first time? They act like they know what they’re doing, but they just have no life experience from which to draw, and rely on what they’ve picked up from tv and the movies and what they overhear hiding behind the couch when their older sister’s boyfriend comes over while the parents are out…There’s an old bumper sticker that says it better – Hire a teenager while they know everything.

Fortunately, the law exists to protect young people, even those who have a more mature view of what they’re doing, because as a community, we understand that a woman in her 40’s is better equipped to give informed consent in a sexual encounter than a 14 year old. Adults have more experience of the reality of relationships, and better knowledge of the social context in which sexual activity takes place, i.e. prevailing social mores, likely responses from the community if the relationship becomes public knowledge…

If you can’t see the need to draw the line somewhere, and say to adults “Go no further. This child is too young to be an equal in this relationship.” then there is no boundary, and next it’s 13 year olds, the 12…

A Noisy Noise Annoys An Oyster said :

Had to laugh when the story referred to the 14 year old as a “victim”. Victim? He would have loved the whole thing, and good on him I say.

Well that’s the dumbest thing I’ve read so far today.

So, motleychick: presumably you think it’s okay for 43-year-old male teachers to have sex with their 14 year old female students.

Bah, where did the idea come from that 14 year olds are incapable of making educated decisions for themselves. Sure we all see enough of the 14 year olds at the tail end of evolution hanging around Malls to justify this conclusion, but surely it is easy to see that this quickly degenerates into the same stereotyping that is typical of discrimination issues (Racism et al.) If 14 years are old enough to go to jail, they are old enough to have consentual sex with whoever they please.

Also, regret at a later age is meaningless, it happens at all ages.

+1

GregW said :

Bah, where did the idea come from that 14 year olds are incapable of making educated decisions for themselves. Sure we all see enough of the 14 year olds at the tail end of evolution hanging around Malls to justify this conclusion, but surely it is easy to see that this quickly degenerates into the same stereotyping that is typical of discrimination issues (Racism et al.) If 14 years are old enough to go to jail, they are old enough to have consentual sex with whoever they please.

Also, regret at a later age is meaningless, it happens at all ages.

The idea came from studies and – THE LAW!

And that is not the only issue. The teacher was in a position of power.

At 14 your might think you are making ecucated and informed decisions, however when you get older and reflect, often you can see situation where your decision weren’t as informed as you had thought.
At 14 you might think it is cool to date a 30 year old. As you get older you realise that the 30 year old was exhibiting classic predatory behaviours that they wouldn’t have gotten away with if they were dating a mature adult, making educated, informed decisions.

GregW said :

If 14 years are old enough to go to jail, they are old enough to have consentual sex with whoever they please.

14 year olds *aren’t* old enough to go to jail. Nice going, Perry Mason.

Bah, where did the idea come from that 14 year olds are incapable of making educated decisions for themselves. Sure we all see enough of the 14 year olds at the tail end of evolution hanging around Malls to justify this conclusion, but surely it is easy to see that this quickly degenerates into the same stereotyping that is typical of discrimination issues (Racism et al.) If 14 years are old enough to go to jail, they are old enough to have consentual sex with whoever they please.

Also, regret at a later age is meaningless, it happens at all ages.

PBO said :

Skidbladnir said :

Statutory rape is still a crime.

43 year old man + 14 year old boy = massive controversy, committed mobs carrying pitchforks and screaming for blood, and criminal charges.
43 year old man + 14 year old girl = slightly less controversy, smaller crowd carrying gardening tools, criminal charges.
43 year old woman + 14 year old boy = congratulatory crowd standing around saying “Lucky boy, she was up for it and a bit of a hottie”?

14 really does go into 43 easier than 43 goes into 14…

Love it.

+1

Inappropriate9:56 am 19 May 09

A Noisy Noise Annoys An Oyster said :

Had to laugh when the story referred to the 14 year old as a “victim”. Victim? He would have loved the whole thing, and good on him I say.

At the time perhaps, but older and wiser he can see what’s wrong; hence why he reported it.

Skidbladnir said :

Statutory rape is still a crime.

43 year old man + 14 year old boy = massive controversy, committed mobs carrying pitchforks and screaming for blood, and criminal charges.
43 year old man + 14 year old girl = slightly less controversy, smaller crowd carrying gardening tools, criminal charges.
43 year old woman + 14 year old boy = congratulatory crowd standing around saying “Lucky boy, she was up for it and a bit of a hottie”?

14 really does go into 43 easier than 43 goes into 14…

Love it.

Statutory rape is still a crime.

43 year old man + 14 year old boy = massive controversy, committed mobs carrying pitchforks and screaming for blood, and criminal charges.
43 year old man + 14 year old girl = slightly less controversy, smaller crowd carrying gardening tools, criminal charges.
43 year old woman + 14 year old boy = congratulatory crowd standing around saying “Lucky boy, she was up for it and a bit of a hottie”?

14 really does go into 43 easier than 43 goes into 14…

> Had to laugh when the story referred to the 14 year old as a “victim”. Victim? He would have loved the whole thing, and good on him I say.

You LAUGHED??? Don’t be so stupid. That’s EXACTLY the same as saying a 14yo girl loved sleeping with an older, handsome teacher. In either case, maybe they think it is exciting, cool or whatever…but in both cases it’s still wrong & it’s still illegal..it’s an adult in a position of authority taking advantage of a child. I know someone who was sleeping with a 40+yo woman when he was 15. Sure…he thought it was pretty cool at the time, but in the end it screwed him up quite badly & it took him quite some time to deal with.

At least it wasn’t group sex! 🙂

Pandy – I’m thinking comment #4 is the type of things you are referring to?

He is a victim you twit. The teacher was in a position of power and abused that power.

A Noisy Noise Annoys An Oyster9:18 am 19 May 09

Had to laugh when the story referred to the 14 year old as a “victim”. Victim? He would have loved the whole thing, and good on him I say.

amarooresident28:58 am 19 May 09

I know it’s wrong but that South Park episode featuring Ike and the teacher springs to mind.

Niiiice.

Pandy said :

Phew. Wait for the “women are not rapists” apologists to come out.

??? care to follow that up with anything?

Phew. Wait for the “women are not rapists” apologists to come out.

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