Sex Offender 2

the more I think about it, the more Im deeply troubled about the plight of Helen Goddard

Im just going to throw out a few thoughts. They wont be fair (not claiming to be either), they wont be balanced. They should be thought provocing. thats all.

1) as long as I read about under 16s stabing each other in gang related crime, I think the police & justice should stop worrying about a 16 year old having consensual sex.

2) I mentioned that I feel the parents are the only ones who are benefiting from the conviction. that seems pretty harsh, doesnt it?
Well, lets re-examine the facts..
a) prestigious school in central london. child prodigy teacher etc.
Conclusion: wealthy parents.

Much more so that the parents of for instance Shakilus Townsend (randomly picked case). he was murdered in London. Every month someone underaged is murdered in London.
conclusion: root cause of teen killings not yet found. More work needed. (but they are too busy convicting someone of having underaged, consentual sex!)

So are we back to class justice? A small crime to a rich kid merits as much attention as a big crime to a poor kid?

3) At what age do kids in the UK on average have their first sexual experience?
Lets assume 16. (and I think that’s quite conservative, I lost mine when I was 12…).
In what percentage of this, is the partner 18+?
Id say more than 5 %. Especially if you accept that girls are more mature than boys at that age, and that having a adult boyfriend with a car (or at least a license) would be pretty handy. Being above the 5% threshold makes it (in scientific terms) significant.
So in convicting this girl for something which a significant portion of us have done ourselves, we’ve just made a sham out of justice. Would you (if you're one of the significant 5%) consider it fair or desirable if we went back to the partner you lost your innocence with, and chucked them in jail for it?

4) What harm is coming to the daughter? Does that justify the harm done to the teacher? And is this "justice" removing any harm? Who is feeling better now? (the pare..)

Who are we serving here? Cause there is someone paying a high price, so we’d better make pretty damn sure we know that its doing some good…

dont get me wrong. Im not saying the teacher should walk away scott free. She had an intimate relationship with a pupil, and thats not ok. Trust etc damaged, school rep hurt, not a clever or good thing to do, and some consequence should be attached to it.
But this seems more like a case for a reprimand, losing a job and having a damaged reputation. Perhaps a fine would be in order (seems too much to me already).
But JAIL???
Really, we think that in our society, someone who does this should be sent to JAIL?? For 15 months??

Sex offender??

Today I read that a female music teacher (26) was sentenced to three things.
1) jail (15 months!!!)
2) humiliation and the subsequent social troubles
3) she's being placed on a sex offenders list.

Now what would this horrible person have done to deserve this punishment. After all, murderers, gangsters and rapists frequently get punishments only a factor 3 higher...

She had an affair with a 16 year old student.
Thats it.

The student admitted initiating it, admitted liking it, and admitted that the whole damn affair was consensual. So who exactly are we protecting from this awfully harmful teacher? The girl, who lost her innocence before her 18th?

Ok, please raise your hands if you remained a virgin untill you were of age please... Ah, you sir, in the back, congratz!

Or are we protecting the conscience of the parents. Those poor heartbroken parents who were so attentive that they didn’t notice anything for half a year? But now they can say that "they stood up for their daughters’ honour!"

Quite frankly, if i were the daughter, Id feel awful. Someone I had a love affair with (i.e. someone I had/have warm and intimate feelings towards) is ending up in jail (15 months amongst rapists, thieves and murderers!!! she'll get out in 2011!!), seeing her career, name and privacy destroyed, and is hurt to the bone.
Now we have two options.
1) The daughter is heartbroken. She feels guilty, has lost a lover, doesn’t feel supported in her choices and has been "cut down to her underage size!! "you do what I say dear girl", says dear, loving Dad." etc etc. Who the hell does she think she is making decisions (at the frightfully young age of 16. Which is also when people are expected to be able to choose their career path for the rest of their lives...)about who she shares her OWN body with?
That’s for the judge, the law, and her parents to decide, surely?!
Must be a pretty traumatizing experience for a 16 year old, or not?

2) She's not feeling that way. In this situation that would, in my book, make her a bad person. If she can through her choices contribute to another’s pain and misfortune without feeling bad, she's not the kind of child Id consider a "nice or good kid", and I wouldn’t think much of her upbringing either!

So, who did we help here?

Society. They have a clear conscience now that they've punished this "deserving" bad doer!

The parents. They too can rest assured that although they haven’t spared a thought for the long term effects on their daughters mental health (a guilt complex won’t help her succeed in life. A cuddle on the other hand might), the neighbours know that it WASNT THEIR FAULT!!

And that’s what this is allllll about. The parent can walk down the street with their heads held high, at the price of two young ladies piece of mind.


Helen Goddard, you are in my opinion guilty of stupidity, bad judgment and a lack of self discipline. But none of those things are a crime. You are being made an example out of, though the means of this unjustified and disproportionate punishment.

I feel sorry for you.