commentary by Patrick H. Moore
There was a time in America not that long ago when sexual relations between adult teachers and adolescent students, while not completely acceptable, was certainly neither frowned upon nor prosecuted in the manner it is today.
For example, at my suburban California high school back in the late 1960s, a number of teachers pursued and seduced students ranging in age from 15 to 17 with relative impunity. The hetero art teacher was a veritable wild man known for his conquests of under-aged female art students. The gay Spanish teacher was a bit less promiscuous but certainly “got cozy” with more than one under-aged teenage boys.
And I remember my surprise when a friend of mind confided in me that he had been sleeping with a male history teacher. This same teacher allegedly later married a woman in what was thought to be a marriage of convenience. The two of them then reportedly went on to open up a children’s camp.
While they likely lacked specific details, I’m quite certain that the high school administrators were aware that at least some of their staff members were “teen seducers” focused on dallying where they should not have been.
That was then, however, and this is now as a rather novel recent case out of Brandon, Mississippi makes crystal clear.
David Moye of the Huffington Post writes:
Two high school softball coaches who are married to each other are accused of having illegal sexual contact with a 15-year-old student on at least two occasions — including once on school grounds.
Michael Porter, 27, and, his wife, Blair Porter, of Brandon, Mississippi, were arrested Friday and each charged with one count of sexual battery.
The alleged victim played on the Ridgeland High School softball team, which was coached by Michael Porter. His wife was an assistant coach who also taught at Old Towne Middle School.
This alleged “tag-team encounter” might still be going on had not the husband and wife reportedly gotten a bit reckless in their desires and begun “working overtime.” According to Mississippi News Now, the case was brought to the attention of the authorities after the unnamed victim student’s mother realized that her daughter was being contacted by the couple after school hours. One can only imagine the poor mother’s shock when she realized that the interaction between the Porters and her daughter “went well beyond that of a teacher student relationship.”
Armed with the information provided by the student’s mother, the police obtained a search warrant and proceeded to find “a large number of texts between the Porters and the student that included sexually explicit language and naked pictures.”
When questioned, the teen victim allegedly told investigators she had two sexual encounters with the Porters. One rendezvous occurred at at their home while the other took place inside a press box at Ridgefield High School, according to WAPT TV.
WJTV reports that according to the indictment, the suspects engaged in oral sex with the minor.
The girl’s mother believes that the inappropriate conduct may have begun earlier when her daughter was a student at Old Towne Middle School, where Blair Porter just happened to be a teacher. The indictment suggests that Blair Porter may have arranged the sexual encounters, WDAM TV reports.
Although the suspects’ bond was set at very affordable rates — $25,000 for Michael Porter and $5,000 for Blair Porter – if convicted, both former teachers (needless to say, they both have been terminated) face up to 30 years in prison.
Their trial is set for February.
* * * * *
Consider yourself fortunate if you are one of the lucky ones who is not tempted by the “fruit of forbidden (under-aged) flesh.” Nearly every day we read about teachers who take a hard fall because they cannot resist youthful pulchritude, and in today’s no-nonsense zero tolerance climate, such dalliances are not only severely frowned upon, but are liable to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Nevertheless, sentences for teachers who have been convicted of sex offenses with under-aged students vary greatly and seem to range from rather brief terms of incarceration to sentences stretching into the double digits.
It’s hard to believe that a mere 45 years ago, student-teacher dalliances apparently drew little attention from the authorities. The fact that today’s offenders “lead with their chin” by generally leaving a clearly marked “electronic trail” makes it incredibly easy for prosecutors to build a case against them.
In the case of the Porters, the fact that it was the two of them engaging with the 15-year-old student is bound to work against them in the court of public opinion.