One incident out of Texas and you consider this to be the norm yet this is almost an everyday occurance in California, New York and Bill Clintons house.

bill clinton never slept with underage girls. wow. and for the record you two, statutory rape of a minor is never "the norm".

Other than severe bullying and engaging in inappropriate behavior, there's not too much else to do in Texas. He's just a product of his environment, even if it is Bible-related. Besides constantly washing the truck and getting home in less than an hour after a punishing commute each day, a guy has got to have his hobbies.

When a woman does these things with boys it's alright.

What a gross, terrible thing this old man has done.

Oh and rockmebritney,

You should be the last person to chastise anyone after you considered the stabbing of an innocent person as a petty crime.

Black-clad executioners were inspecting the remote controls they would use to hang the men, both in their early 20s, who were convicted of stabbing a man in November and stealing his bag and the equivalent of $20.

And you said....

the headline should be "iran sets itself back, yet ANOTHER 1,000 years, by publicly hanging people over petty crimes... and fails to look at the deeper issue being that it is a completely ridiculous culture with absolutely no respect for humanity."

http://world-news.newsvine.com/_news/2013/01/21/16623338-iran-resorts-to-hangings-in-public-to-cut-rising-crime?threadId=3650755&commentId=73556994

Your words, not mine.

Ouch britney,

Just read what sittingonafence linked up about your newsvine history and if I were you I would go hide my face for a while. Stabbing and robbing people is not a petty crime. You got schooled!

Clinton never slept with underage girls (that we know of).

Why are you determined to link pedophilia to Bill Clinton?

Clinton didn't sleep with underage girls man!

He smoked pot but didn't inhale either. Where'd I learn all this?!

The Internet.

In fact, Monica Lewinsky turned Republican the year after he was impeached.

She said the Democrats left a bad taste in her mouth.

Shakes head.. linking Bill Clinton to this? Do we need a reminder that Newt Gingrich did the VERY same thing while he accused Clinton of it as well? Remember, the GOP says marriage is between a man and a woman, then another woman, then another woman... and legitimte rape is okay, god said so. This girl probably was wearing something provocative... (Sarcasm and sad)

This man committed a crime and should be charged for it. Plain and simple.

Sitting on a fence: Someone has to have sex with what you call "the fat and ugly ones" he was just being charitable. Quit living in the past, you cannot change it.

If all presidents accomplished what Clinton did during his 8 years I would recommend Monica sex to them too. The Republicans hounded him for 8 years, spending 100's of millions in your tax dollars trying to find something to prosecute him on, including trying to impeach him, and all they came up with was an extramarital hummer. And of course what this man does with his personal life is none of anyone else's business.

Seems quite 'biblical'... how many underage girls was King Solomon having sex with?

Gee -- why did I know even before I read the first word of the first sentence this would involve a white guy from the South?

He's 25, and she was "under 17".

What does under 17 mean? 16, just about to turn 17? Was she 12?

If she was 16, and he waited two years before having sex with her, this wouldn't be a story at all.

The only problem is that he was in a position of authority over her, and to have a relationship with someone under your authority is always unethical, no matter what ages or genders the participants happen to be.

i got "schooled"? what does that mean? sorry, i havent lived in the US for years so im not familiar with teenage lingo. what does that have to do with this article? and in iran, i think stabbing is a petty crime, considering everything else that goes on there. although, i live in the middle east, so i probably know better than you.

Dick-2100935:

Amen, brutha.

BAN ASSAULT CHURCHES!!!!

Texas will cease to be the white-right state it has been in the past. Minorities have been on the rise for a long time now, and after the recent election and census..... well the stats do not lie.

Big, White Texas is an endangered species. Which is why all these church freaks are coming out of the woodwork. They want attention.

The thing that puzzles me in today's society is that we almost assume that young teens are sexually active because we teach them about safe sex, using condoms, etc from the time they are in junior high on up.... So you have this whole generation of 16 year olds who are very sexual, having sex, and seeing it as part of their normal lives. Legally they are children, but sexually they are now far from it. And yet when they engage in sex with someone who is 25, all of a sudden the 25 year old is a "child molester" and a pedophile. My point is that there are now many 15 and 16 year olds who are way more sexually experienced than many adults, and seem very capable of giving complete consent to anyone.

With that said, it's pretty stupid of a 25 year old youth leader to let himself get pulled into a relationship with a minor (regardless of who did the pulling). But I can EASILY see how it happens, given the sexual experience many younger girls now have. It's not the same world it was 20 years ago, that's for sure.

@rockmebritney

And the operative term in your statement is "think", meaning that it is your own opinion and therefore is not fact. Plus, your geographic location in the Middle East is irrelevant and doesn't make you more knowledgeable about the laws of a country in the area that you don't even live in. I live in the U.S., does that mean I know more about the laws in Canada than you do? No. That's what we like to call an inductive fallacy.

Also, based on a rudimentary search into Iranian law, armed robbery (which is the act in question) is considered to be a Moharebeh crime, which is punishable by the death penalty in Iran. So, your argument is invalid.

As for this article, if only the youth leader had waited until she was 17 (age of consent in Texas)...

Creek Dog

Clinton didn't sleep with underage girls man!

He smoked pot but didn't inhale either. Where'd I learn all this?!

The Internet.

gm Creek Dog

"Everything you read on the internet is true." ---Abraham Lincoln

Greek Dog. Monica was a set up from day one. She had made a bet with some of her friends before she left home that she would have sex with bill. I think the Rep's got her that job, and knew if she came on the Billy that he couldn't say no. I mean she was not attractive at all. But she could suck a gulf ball trough a garden hose. What kind of woman would keep a dress with a load of the president's Cum on the front of it. That was kept for evidence. The Impeachment was the biggest wast of tax money ever. Hell most of the guys that prosecuted Clinton were way worse then Bill. Everyone of them were run out of office and hell they didn't even get 1/3 of the senate to vote for impeachment. What a joke. There is a old saying. If you take a shot at the King, you had better kill him.

Now as to the story. I am sorry but after a girl is 16, she can give consent. This girl was 17 and willing, In Tx. she is 3 years over the age of marriage. Church girl or not, I don't think she was forced in any way. I am willing to bet she started the whole thing. Not to many men will say no when a girl like that wants to have sex with them. That is the plain truth and any man that says otherwise is a layer. Not all me would act on it but they sure would want to.

Dammit Creekdog, coffee burns when it comes out your nose?

"Bad taste" , I don't care who ya are, that's funny right there"

gm cd, db2 and all the others with a right mind...

This girl was 17 and willing...

chuck, the article says she was "a teenager younger than 17".

Other than that, I agree with what you say in your comment.

I wonder how old she was, because the guy was charged with sexual assault of a child. If she was 16, she wasn't a child anymore, except for her parents.

A 16-year old who's been given condoms from her school and taught how to practice safe sex can't legally consent to have sex with someone older than 18, but she CAN consent to have an invasive medical procedure to terminate the life of a fetus conceived during consensual sex (for which she can't legally consent). Is anyone else finding any of this confusing?!

That's one way to screw up the rest of your life.

Bruce-308647

Teens are going to have sex. There is nothing a parent or school can do that is going to stop them. Parents don't like (generally) and at least the schools are stepping up to recognize if/when it does happen, hey, be safe while it does.

I am pro choice and its not my right or YOUR right to tell a female what she can and cannot do with her own body. I would hope that any would carry the fetus and then give birth to the child. However, for minors, isn't it the responsibility of the parents to make decisions? Its not societies responsibility.

@ItsAboutTime

Teens are going to have sex. There is nothing a parent or school can do that is going to stop them.

I disagree. After hearing about some of the nasty std's out there and this epidemic called "broken condom" biology doesn't stand a chance. HPv and Pevic imflamatory disease will keep a lot of legs closed. How about 18 years of child support from a blood sucking witch determined to drain every penny you have, and leave you eatin ramen noodles, will keep a lot of pants up.

It won't be long before a bunch of anti-christian comments from people who read into, instead of read, this story.Basically, as a youth leader, he should have distanced himself. He didn't and this was the result. They got closer than they should of, but it doesn't sound like assualt if they exchanged messages. It sounds like one thing led to another.

bill clinton never slept with underage girls.

Unlike Ted Nugent.

Age of consent varies per state. In Texas, the age of consent is 17. While I certainly do acknowledge that teenage girls (and boys) are much more sexual than much of society would like, that does not change the fact that the law is the law. Several posters seem to think that just because she willingly participated in the texting and sex, that she actually asked for it and caused it. They also seem to think that this the poor guy was just weak. Every adult should have the higher moral standard, especially a Christian youth worker, to not break the law and turn down sexual advances from minors. It does not matter who initiated it, he knew he was wrong both morally and legally.

Right on, Debra. I'll add that the victim was not able to legally give consent and, therefore, James Ackley allegedly raped her.

ItIsWhat!t!s

@ItsAboutTime

Teens are going to have sex. There is nothing a parent or school can do that is going to stop them.

I can't disagree. The possibilities of contracting an STD rises with any kind of sexual activity. However, teenagers feel "invincible" don't they? Say what you want, think what you can... teens are going to have sex and if they are, I would rather my teenagers be prepared for it then not.

I agree with you on the youth leader distancing himself. I'm leaving out the religious aspect, because to me, it doesn't matter if an adult commits this same kind of activity outside of a religious organization. A crime is a crime.

Why is everyone so down on Texas?

For goodness' sake, can't you people see this guy is a Methodist????

Ya gotta watch those Methodists (and yes, dumbaxxes, this makes as much sense as bashing Texas, or any other state).

So far (according to the article) the evidence is the testimony of the alleged victim.

Until they verify the allegedly sexually oriented text messages sent even exist, you have to consider this whole thing could be a witch hunt caused by an angry child.

Let's wait for all the evidence before we hang this guy.

However, for minors, isn't it the responsibility of the parents to make decisions?

Nope. Legally it's not (although it should be)... My 17 year old daughter can't get a physical for high school sports without my parental consent (they sent her home), and yet she can go consent to an invasive and potential life threatening abortion procedure and and courts say it's none of my business as a parent.

If she was 16, she wasn't a child anymore, except for her parents.

I would NOT test out that theory if I were you.

she can go consent to an invasive and potential life threatening abortion procedure and and courts say it's none of my business as a parent.

And if you did your job as a parent she 1. would not be pregnant whether you provided sex education/birth control or a religious upbringing. 2. She would not be afraid to come to you for help and advise.

I am guessing you don't have kids, do you "Devil's son"... Or you truly are a chip off the ole block!

I think that part of the problem is that we set the age of consent rather high. We wused to expect women at 14 to get married. Society has changed, but the physical bodies have not. If this included forcible rape, that would be very different, but this was consensual. I don't know how old this girl was, so if she was under 13 then it is a worse problem, but really, if this were in Italy, where the age of consent is 14, would this have made the news?

That's right. It's millions of churches, worldwide.

That's right. It's millions of churches, worldwide with thousands of young girls having sex.

Den and Yours, did you READ the article? Because the church is cooperating with the police. You are never going to stop predators from getting into situations where they have access to children. No one is psychic; but the point is that whether it's a school, church, community center, club, the scouts, etc., when the crime is revealed, they should open up and help the police.

It isn't the crime, it's the cover-up. In this case, there is no cover-up. In fact, the church is actively assisting the police.

It is wrong even if the girl was consensual. The problem is that she is considered a minor under the age of 17 therefore it is WRONG! Consensual or not, he was the adult and knows better.

Anyone who thinks joking about molestation of children regardless of age is pretty much condoning the acts. ALL OF YOU ARE JUST AS SICK AS THE PERP!!

Valaunt: there is no way to provide protection, when a couple want to have sex, they will, no matter where or when and this could also happen in your own house when trying to protect yours.

Heck - here in texas a pickup is preferred over a suite at the Marriott.

Oh, so just because they are a church, they are supposed to be psychic? Predators work very hard at getting into positions where they have access to kids. At least this church is actively helping the priest put this guy away.

Diff -

Churches should work really hard at routing out pedophiles and perverts. They have all that extra non-taxed income and they claim to be one with god and their people..... why do predators seem to consistently turn up in the religious halls of church?

Because they can..... and will continue to do so.

Maybe we need armed "good guys" in every church?

Not that I'm defending this guy but why are you calling him a predator? Allbeit he totally screwed his life up and she was legally a minor (probably 16 since they say under 17 otherwise would have posted the age) it sounds like she did it willingly. I guess I consider predators people going after children like priests seem to. He made a very bad decision that will haunt him the rest of his life but I have seen nothing to indicate he was a predator.

Jonathan F, I thought the same thing at first. It could have been an isolated incident of very bad judgment. But after I read your post, I wondered if you considered that maybe this was not his first offense, caught or not? A willing minor does NOT equate to legal consent. I feel so bad for men who are simply powerless when tempted with young flesh. Too bad it is illegal when it is clearly always the female's fault.

Valaunt

The Methodists do try to protect the youth. In Boy Scouts they have a thing called two deep leadership. This states that there should be two adults present in the same area when there are youth around so these things don't happen. Back in 2002 or 2003 the Methodists also started this same type of program. So how was he able to be at a function where there were another adults present and hold hands and kiss this young girl without anyone else seeing it or saying anything. The other adults at the event should have said something and that might have prevented this from happening. I'm not defending this guy, but all adults, especially parents, need to pay more attention to what their children are doing so these types if incidents stop.

No I had not considered that he may have been a repeat offender that just finally got caught.

I never said a willing minor equates to legality in the eyes of the law. Also never said it was the females fault. All I am saying is this may be a descent guy that made a bad decision who now has screwed the rest of his life up.

I know several people who started dating with legally questionable age differences. Some are still together some are not.

If he did use his position of power/authority then he deserves whatever is coming.

Don't forget that until some valid evidence is presented, this allegation hangs only on the word of the alleged victim, who may have some angry agenda against the accused and his girlfriend.

Wait for proof.

Heck - here in texas a pickup is preferred over a suite at the Marriott.

So in Texas a Marriott is considered a nice hotel? That explains a lot. A whole lot.

www.bishopsaccountability.org Read "Survivor's Accounts" This is what happens when parents let the Roman Catholic Church brainwash their children. The parents, brainwashed themselves, then ignore the signs of trauma in their children. Instead they choose to trust the priests, just as they were brainwashed to do. The Roman Catholic Church is a cult.

Not really plain bob. This guy got it on with a female. Still legally underage though...

How will taxing churches prevent sexual assault?

It will help pay for the court costs for starters.

Also, once the church has to pony up money, they will get serious about correcting this.

NYMike, The Church has already "ponied up" billions of dollars. Making them pay taxes won't change this situation, doesn't directly fund the justice system and diverts millions of dollars from direct aid to the poor, homeless and disadvantaged that are served by the charitable works of churches all based on the presumption that the government is better at spending our money than we are. Since virtually all of the Church's money comes from donations from congregants, this ends up really being nothing more than a pass-through tax on the people.

I have no problem making the Church pay for its crimes (both the abuse and the cover-up) but that money should go to victims through lawsuits not the government.

So you tax my paycheck before I get it, you tax every single thing I buy, you tax the money I manage to put in a bank account, and now you are going to tax the money I give to the charity of my choice. So what's my dollar worth now? 10 cents? And as soon as you are taxing the churches, the goverment is involved in overseeing every aspect of their finances. Way to uphold the so-called seperation of church and state!

Makes perfect sense!

Hey Mike, Captain Jack, heard of Separation of State and church?

It keeps religious idiots from making laws. If you tax them they will want to force their crap on you.

Get it now? SEPARATION OF STATE AND church.

Help keep those morons out of your daily lives, join The Freedom From Religion Foundation.

FFRF.ORG

Tax the churches! Its time! They tax you when you go there to hear the word. They want 10% off the top. Then they publish a list of who paid the most. Then they preach politics from the pulpit. Makes me wonder how many meals that could be bought from the cost of a preachers fancy suit? Tax the churches the free ride should be over.

Captain Jack Wigal, Smitty-4183671 - Should we start taxing all non-profit 503(c) organizations? You know, like art collectives, local symphonies, fraternal organizations, credit unions, pension funds, institutions of higher learning, chambers of commerce, mutual insurance companies, agricultural co-ops, etc. Or maybe "equal protection under the law" can be overlooked in this case?

Everybody supports the Constitution... until they don't support it.

Smitty, don't blame all churches because of some broken ones. My church never posted who gave what once, and my pastor (who wears second-hand suits by the way) doesn't even know who tithes or not. I don't know what church you go to, but I have never been to one that made me give a dime I didn't want to. You really need to read zupercrams post again, so you can understand a bit better about non-profits.

normalperson, get with the program. We don't believe in that archaic American principle of innocent until proven guilty here on Newswhine. Around here we read one poorly written, badly sourced, utterly biased report from NBC news and we hang 'em. Ain't got no use for investigations, evidence and trials here. Of course most of the "hang them now" crowd would probably take a team of lawyers to court to fight a parking ticket if the ticket belonged to them.

Not only that, but when the crime involves a predatory older male taking advantage of an innocent helpless little girl, there's no need for a trial. Even if found innocent, society will make sure his life is forever ruined.

Why would you think NBC News needs any other reason? Its what they live for.

Actually, the article says that she was younger than 17. Also, while this article does bring shame on the name of Christianity, that is not NBC's fault. Rather it is the fault of those who have done this. Christianity that is actually following the Bible should not fear the exposure of those who claim its name but violate it's teachings, instead we should be willing and able to point out the difference between us and them.

As an example, I am a 27 year old man that works with the youth at my church, but I am never alone with the young ladies unless there are several of them (at least three, preferably four). If young ladies show up when I am the only leader there I will wait outside the youth building until enough people get there that I could not even be accused of misconduct. This church needs to implement and enforce similar guidelines.

When I was 17, it wasn't a very good year. (Sorry, Old Blue Eyes.) I remember the daily litany of praying that 17 year-old girls would want to have sex with me. Then and there I realized the intimate connection between religion and erotic fantasy, approaching the status of universal truth, no matter the age of either the petitioner or the object of his desire.

When our criminal justice system comes to accept this line of reasoning as a viable defense in cases like this, remember: you heard it here first!

Joethelib

I agree with you on answers being needed to these questions. However, I wold like to point out that whatever her level of involvement and consent to this, he, as both an adult at least twice as old as she was (maximum age she could be is 16 according to the article) and especially as a spiritual leader, he bears the far greater share of the guilt for doing this.

an adult at least twice as old as she was (maximum age she could be is 16 according to the article)

He's nowhere close to 32. He's 25.

If he's at least twice her age, that puts her at twelve years old which is a completely different classification of crime.

"Sounds like there is more to the story than what's been printed. Is she really a victim or did she know what she was doing?"

Hey -- the Bible says NO PREMARITAL SEX. Can you say -- another hypocritical Bible thumper???

She did not go to the police. Her parents went to the church pastor who called the police. Ackley was a volunteer with the youth, not a pastor or religious leader -- just a regular church member that went through the training process and background check that anyone working with youth has to go through (he also had to clear all of that to do some part-time work at a local private school).

James Ackley might be convicted as a rapist. He raped a girl.

If he's at least twice her age, that puts her at twelve years old which is a completely different classification of crime.

She was under 17 meaning she was probably 16. Legally a minor. Sex with a minor, unless you are a minor as well, is considered statutory rape regardless of the other persons age.

Yes Jonathan, unless the age of consent is 17, as it is in Texas. It sounds like most people are offended by calling a willing minor a victim. I get that. And it sounds like people are also offended because this guy, since he was only 25, doesn't sound like the stereotypical child molester/predator. However, the law is clear. Perhaps people should try to get the laws changed instead of being annoyed when they are upheld. Lower the age of consent to 13 maybe, since we all know that those little 8th graders are little hussies and. (sarcasm)

Alan Pugh and everyone else,

I am terribly sorry, I messed up the math in my head and confused him being 50% older with twice as old. While nowhere near as drastic as I was thinking I would still hold that he was far to old to be in any relationship with a young lady 16 or younger.

Jonathan F, you are mistaken. In most states, the victim being under thirteen is a higher classification of crime.

Flemingmg, no worries... it happens to the best of us. :)

flemingmg

The artical only indcates she was a teenager younger than 17. Please read all of my post especally this part.

As an "adult" at the retreat James should not have just walked away but ran as fast as he could. His choice was wrong and will follow him the rest of his life. No James you can't pray this away, your now a "Sex Offender" for life.

I completely and whole Hartley believe he is wrong and guilty of child rape. My only point is that courts hold kids as young as 12 in adult court for crimes. If a 12 year old knows the difference between right and wrong and can be tried in adult court. Why can't a 15 or 16 year old who knows the difference between right and wrong be held to some degree of responsibility. Being a teen should not excuse them from "Knowingly" taking part in an illegal act.

Oh Danny Boy, my fellow Freudian, I fear your excellent post will fall on deaf ears. Seems as though our (discontented) civilization has come to regard Sex as a kind of risque, discretionary game whose rules continually fluctuate rather than a natural, healthy, and irrepressible instinct.

We criminalize Sex but glorify guns, violence, and Death. Yeah, old Siggy would have a field day with 21st-century America!

The age of consent in Texas is 17. However, the "Romeo and Juliet" exception is three years, meaning that if your partner is within three years of your age, you are exempted (for example, you are 18 and your partner is 15).

My great grandmother was married at age 14 back in the mid 1800s.

I think people's ideas about being able to make informed decisions at early ages is warped. I've seen lots of young girls hitting on older men. I had a female co-worker once confide that her 17 year old daughter was hitting on her husband.

Does the human body come with an on/off switch or a 'ready/not ready' switch? I think if you talk to a child psychologist, you'll find that kids have sexual urges at some pretty early ages and if everyone would be totally honest with, first themselves and then the person next to them, we'd discover that greater than 90% of us have had something like an urge or acted on some sexual urge.

If the girl willingly had sex and the factual evidence supports this (i.e. mutually explicit text messages), then I'd say that the parents should have a talk with their daughter and teach her to keep her panties on and why it's important to make good choices.

If you want to send a guy to prison for 20 years and then wear an ankle bracelet for the rest of his life for doing something the girl knowingly consented to (regardless of age) then that's a bit medieval and not too far removed from what happens in the middle east.

I know from teens I've talked to (Friends of my daughter) that they didn't feel traumatized about a lot of things until the adults swooped in and told them how bad, illegal, perverted, etc. they were or would be. They don't start saying "I was raped" until that happens. (This is not ALL situations but it's not uncommon...and again, based upon my observations)

A college student once told me that the girls who have sex with the football team or was very promiscuous often was rebelling against their overly strict parents and they often come from Christian families.

On another note, pay TV in the hotels rents out porn. One person I know of who was a tech support person for the video servers once told me that the sale of porn was up 400% when Christians came into town for conventions. ( I go to church, but I don't like hypocrites)

From my Mormon friends back when I was a teenager: Mormon missionaries returning from 2 years on mission are referred to as "Octopuses"...all hands on the GF. (Nothing against Mormons, just a factual note)

We are biologically wired to think about sex and there isn't a switch behind the neck that you flip on or off to activate that.

The world is not as clean and pretty as many would have you believe.

Hurting kids and doing things against their will is a different story altogether....and yes, there is a certain age where kids can't make consensual choices...but I think it's a lot younger than age 17.

The big mistake this guy made was to have a relationship with someone who was under his care or authority and he compromised his position.

This was meant to be controversial. :-)

TravelerinChina - one question. If we need the law to protect our kids from the child hunters and for kids who can't make consensual choices, why would we allow for the exception of 'she wanted it'. It hands the defense team the opportunity to just blame the victim. The law is clear and it should have no wiggle room. Adults should simply NOT have sexual relationships with minors. If the adult doesn't want to go to jail and be labeled for life, he or she should rebuff all advances, or marry the child.

I have a feeling you're not going to win many fans here, but you have at least one. My partner and I began dating when she was fifteen and I was twenty-three. We'll be celebrating ten years together this August.

Of course, in our case, we were dating as opposed to sneaking around as the couple in this story were, but I'm with you on the point of AoC laws being too black-and-white.

Alan, I think a lot of sensible people would agree with you. It's a shame that there seems to be no way to apply common sense to judge individual situations. There's a world of difference between a consensual relationship between two people with an age difference (when one is not in some kind of position of power over another, which can twist things, and both can consent) and assault.

They weren't in a dating relationship. He was her church youth leader and he had a girlfriend. He was an opportunist. Lots of states do have the Romeo and Juliet laws, that allow for the age difference to some degree. Texas does not, and the difference in years between them are at least 6. While girls this age were married, having children and running households 200 years ago, the sad fact is today's young girls typically have no capacity to make serious decisions involving sex and relationships. I'm sure there are the exceptions.

Debra, the R&J law in Texas is three years. Just wanted to clarify.

You are forgetting the fact that James Ackley raped a girl.

AMEN

Technically, home is the most dangerous place and a child's relatives the most potentially dangerous people. More children are harmed by those who should love them the most.

I read stories all the time on nbcnews of a woman in a position of authority (usually a teacher) raping high school kids.

Of course we do, but those stories don't get labeled as "rape". And of course, the majority of the comments that follow are along the lines of "that kid isn't a victim. He probably liked it."

My point is that this story is nearly identical to the one I told. Youth leader has sexual relationship with underage youth in the group. What prompts certain stories like this to be publicized while others are not?

By the Stunner - those stories don't get labeled as rape because of the legal definition of rape (many states it actually requires penetration, so it is female specific. Don't fool yourself that a non-rape charge is any less severe. And I'm not sure if you read all the posts, but the majority feel that she is no victim and she wanted it - therefore excuse the poor guy who just had a lapse in judgment. That's the vibe I picked up. No double standard here.

Well now I get where you're coming from Deb. I do think she wanted it since she met with this guy several times and finally had sex with him. Does that excuse him, no. She was legally underage of consent and in the eyes of the law he is guilty. Was she a victim? In the eyes of the law yes.

Cannot answer for others but I think he maybe a descent guy who made a bad judgement call and in turn screwed his life up. Maybe I'm wrong and he is a predator but from the article it doesnt sound like it. So yes, while I am lenient towards him, assuming a few things, it doesnt excuse what he did. Now if she was younger then I wouldnt be lenient at all in my views of him.

Even legally underage kids can want to have sex. Doesnt mean persons over the legal age should take them up on it. They can, and do so at their own risk. You know the saying about playing with fire....

here we are again The title was "Hot for Teacher" and it sucked. Dude it was always "cool" to be with a "older woman" from the beginning of time. Its nothing new.

"Hot for Teacher" did suck, but "I got the teacher" is one of the greatest rock 'n' roll songs evah!

What about George Michaels song Teacher?

I think you have your religious organizations confused there bud(s).