Meghan Allison Stewart, 28, of Willits, pleaded guilty in April to the continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 and one count of oral copulation of a person under the age of 16. Stewart will have to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed Wednesday by Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Bruce Watson and will have to register as a sex offender for life after her release....◼ 'Secrets kill people': Jane Doe shares her story
Deputy District Attorney Kelly Neel, who prosecuted the case, said after the hearing that the disposition was reached in accordance with Jane Doe and her family's wishes. Neel also said there is no evidence to indicate other victims in the case....
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Friday, May 20, 2011
Former Willits teacher, soccer coach sentenced to 6 years, 8 months for molestation
◼ Former Willits teacher, soccer coach sentenced to 6 years, 8 months for molestation
How times have changed. When I went to high school in the '50's most all the kids knew the girl's gym teacher was a lesbian. The men's coach was gay and he eventually became president of the school. It seemed it was no big deal back in those days just as it was no big deal that uncle Joe would try cop feels from his nieces. But these days that sort of behavior will land you in prison for many years even though most intelligent people know that this sort of fairly innocuous and easily dealt with human pattern has been happening for probably over a million years. It's hard for me to imagine high school age girls being "deceived" by a gay coach but maybe that's the norm now as it is for draconian punishment for this type of human behavior which as statistics show hasn't changed its appearance in society one iota.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's not that long ago that it was accepted practice for men to beat their wives. That's been corrected. Same with kids.
ReplyDeleteWe've come a long way, but not far enough. Child molesters still get relatively light sentences. People in positions of authority should not get away with this kind of thing - nor should they be set free to do it again. It is a special kind of betrayal when it is someone in a trusted position, one that is supposed to be nurturing, protective and supporting. Teachers, priests, foster parents and police top amongst those - and yes, coaches, too.
Punishment doesn't work, Rose. It only soothes society's need for revenge but does nothing to alter the behavioral pattern. If we set out to punish human sexuality that will always be with us, we are fools. Take this situation in which the human need to learn how to be human takes the form of children's sexuality turning to adults for instruction. Kids can't learn about sex from kids because kids don't know about it. Adults do and so some aggressive kids will naturally turn to adults for sexual learning. This is human behavior that cannot be changed by laws so when law penalizes natural human behavior what good is it? No, Rose, Americans do not deal well with sexuality, it's our traditional Christian inheritance that comes with Western Civilization and we need to move beyond to a solution that works.
ReplyDeleteWe may have issues, some Europeans would agree - but this is a case of exploitation.
ReplyDeleteThe girl tells her own story. This was not a happy thing for her. What if it was your kid?
Stephen,
ReplyDelete"Human behavior" in this context (since the subject is humans) is a tad redundant. All behavior is human, and it can be prevented, moderated, and changed by laws. It's a psthetic and immoral thing to say that since desire is human, it can't be regulated. Let me make it easy for you. If a child asks an adult for some
"sexual learning" the law requires the ADULT to say no.
"It's a psthetic and immoral thing to say that since desire is human, it can't be regulated."
ReplyDeleteThis is my point. None of these punishments work. Our society is not dealing with the problem, these sentences are only being given to appease society's sense of revenge. And revenge does nothing to stop the pattern.