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26 Year old Teacher jailed for lesbian sex with 15 year old

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8266780.stm

She got 15 months in prison. Does anyone else think this is a staggering over-reaction? According to the article, the two are genuinely in love and this sexual relationship was not only consensual but initiated by the 15 year old.

Certainly she should be banned from teaching and working with children because she did arguably abuse a position of trust, but common sense tells us that this really isn't child abuse. With violent criminals getting shorter sentences and our jails full, I believe this is totally unnecessary.

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Reply 1

Toffee_Kid

I agree with you, however I think that she is simply being used as an example to scare those teachers who are considering a relationship with a student/sexually attracted to students from acting upon their emotions. She's been publicly hung, drawn and quartered as they say, but will it really deter teachers and pupils from indulging in relationships with each other, or just scare them even more underground than they already are? I'm leaning towards the latter.

Reply 2

headunderwater

The sentence is disgusting. If the girl consented then I really see no problem.

Reply 3

ScramblingtoSun

I don't disagree with you OP, but would the same have been said if the teacher was a 26 year old man and the student a 15 year old girl? Just a thought.

Reply 4

Colonel.

This should be a Romeo & Juliet style film :yep:

Reply 5

leo89

This story is similar to one I read yesterday here. I feel sorry for him.

Reply 6

synthpopx

"Police found several sex toys during a search of Goddard's home after her arrest."

Why did they feel the need to mention that?

Reply 7

FiveFiveSix

xTazx

I don't disagree with you OP, but would the same have been said if the teacher was a 26 year old man and the student a 15 year old girl? Just a thought.

This. People would be calling for his castration and hanging, let alone 'oh, leave them be, it was consensual'.

Reply 8

headunderwater

xTazx

I don't disagree with you OP, but would the same have been said if the teacher was a 26 year old man and the student a 15 year old girl? Just a thought.

Personally, my reaction would be exactly the same.

Reply 9

voudreau

xTazx

I don't disagree with you OP, but would the same have been said if the teacher was a 26 year old man and the student a 15 year old girl? Just a thought.

Agreed however I wont lie... even I feel that its more acceptable because it was a female teacher. I don't know why :dontknow:

but if I read that a guy had did it I would be a lot more shocked.

Either way the stigma that woman will have to face from society will be a far greater sentence than that imposed by the courts imo.

Reply 10

Daydreamer_13

synthpopx

"Police found several sex toys during a search of Goddard's home after her arrest."

Why did they feel the need to mention that?

Because, obviously, women who use sex toys are corrupt sexual deviants who prey on small childen

Seriously, I have no idea why. Probably a male reporter who's afraid of sexuality in women.

Back on topic, I really don't know where I stand on this - I don't mind it so much as it was consensual. But on the other hand the teacher was in a position of trust... Hmm...It's hard to gauge the 15 year old girl's maturity as well...

Reply 11

Titanomachy

pics or it didn't happen

Reply 12

romeosbitch

I admit i'd be more shocked if it was a 26 year old man. I also thought that there was no age of consent for lesbian sex, I've definately read this in the past but obviously that's been changed or the booklet was just plain wrong.

Typically the mail is "oh noes, a lesbian" about it.

Reply 13

theBOON

love? I say lust!

xTazx

I don't disagree with you OP, but would the same have been said if the teacher was a 26 year old man and the student a 15 year old girl? Just a thought.

I agree, and I think that's because a man portray an image of a possible threat whereas it's difficult to see a woman as a threat, generally!

A while back there was a similar case where the kid was a 15-16 year old boy wheres the teacher was a 23 (I think?) year old female. In that case I find it ridiculous the use of the word abuse (physically at least).

Reply 14

Ribbits

Hmm...
If it was true love, couldn't they have waited until she was 16 at least? Although teacher student relationships are always considered wrong, it would have been a bit better at least and the girl might have even felt differently after another year of maturity, who knows. I know my opinions and feelings changed a lot over just a couple of short teenage years, if I had to make life decisions at 15 they would have been very different to the ones I have made now.

I would be very uncomfortable with all the lying and deceiving too. I would hate to be that girls' parents - and if I was that girl, I couldn't have done that to my parents.

Still, harsh punishment. Public humiliation being the worst part.

Reply 15

34253

15 months is nothing... If it was a man everyone would say the girl could never love him, they would say he worked his way into her head and manipulated her. I think the courts probably just got confused because they more than often let women off who have sexual intercourse with their male students but they were torn because it was woman on woman. In America I think it's even worse, men get 5 odd years, women get the pity of the nation.

Reply 16

34253

Ribbits

Hmm...
If it was true love, couldn't they have waited until she was 16 at least? Although teacher student relationships are always considered wrong, it would have been a bit better at least and the girl might have even felt differently after another year of maturity, who knows. I know my opinions and feelings changed a lot over just a couple of short teenage years, if I had to make life decisions at 15 they would have been very different to the ones I have made now.

I would be very uncomfortable with all the lying and deceiving too. I would hate to be that girls' parents.

Still, harsh punishment. Public humiliation being the worst part.

I think it's a weak punishment. If it was a man I can guarantee he would have gotten at least 2 years, if not 4 years. I really hate it when people presume that when it's a woman doing the paedophillia it's love, but when it's a man it's something sick and wrong.

Reply 17

Mr_Deeds

35mm_

The sentence is disgusting. If the girl consented then I really see no problem.

I don't disagree with this but the age of consent is 16. Even if the girl did in fact consent, it's void according to the law. It would be impossible for the court to make exceptions in cases like this just because the girl initiated the act or because both parties were "in love"; that would render it too possible for other people to abuse their positions of trust where there is an imbalance of power in the relationship.