Vermont paraeducator cleared of sex charges

[Teh One Who Knocks]

WCAX News


http://i.imgur.com/AF5O2Nv.jpg

BURLINGTON, Vt. -

A Champlain Valley Union High School paraeducator is in the clear after a judge threw out sex charges against her.

Julianne Graham, 25, was charged in February with sexual exploitation for allegedly having sex with one of her 16-year-old students at CVU. But Graham's lawyer, Brooks McArthur argued that she was not under contract with the school during the summer when the police say the incident occurred. Monday, the judge agreed that under the law, Graham was not technically in a position of power and therefore could not exploit the student.

Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan says he's considering an appeal hoping to get charges reinstated. He says the school district considered Graham an employee and it is not good policy to say it’s OK for contracted educators to have sex with students over the summer.

[deebakes]

guilty :thumbsdown:

[RBP]

He says the school district considered Graham an employee and it is not good policy to say it’s OK for contracted educators to have sex with students over the summer.

duh.

[DemonGeminiX]

Vermont's age of consent is 16, so if they don't get the charges reinstated as a matter of delinquency of an educator, then she gets off scot-free.

[RBP]

Vermont's age of consent is 16, so if they don't get the charges reinstated as a matter of delinquency of an educator, then she gets off scot-free.

Understood. Do you agree?

[deebakes]

:obama:

[DemonGeminiX]

Understood. Do you agree?

No, I don't. Regardless of the law, common sense has to weigh in here. A 25 year old has no business messing around with a teenager in high school. A teacher has no business messing around with a student, hers or otherwise.

I'm still thinking this is a psychological problem with most of the perpetrators... them refusing to grow up, inability to move into adulthood and have adult relationships with adults. There's some kind of mental or emotional developmental damage or divergence there. I understand the whole control thing, but I think there's a little more to it than just that.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

No, I don't. Regardless of the law, common sense has to weigh in here. A 25 year old has no business messing around with a teenager in high school.


If 16 is the age of consent, then what difference does it make if the other person is 25 or 65

[DemonGeminiX]

If 16 is the age of consent, then what difference does it make if the other person is 25 or 65

It doesn't matter. Neither one has any business being with a high school student. If I don't think 25 is OK for 16, then I'm definitely not going to greenlight 65.

[Hal-9000]

For me it's not so much the age (unless we're talking under the legal consent age in whatever location), it's the teacher/student relationship.

Even in college, if the prof is let's say 30 and the college student is 20, there's still an issue of favoritism or the threat of non favoritism that sours the relationship.