With these societal attitudes and these are prevalent universally albeit in different flavors.

It seems there's a 29-year-old female teacher, Christine McCallum, in the Boston area who had sex with a 13-year-old boy.  Well, actually their "affair" started when he was 13.  It went on for 2 years.  They had sex some 300 times.  She got him drunk to have sex with him, feeding him jello shots.  Now she's in jail charged with seven counts of statutory rape.

So CNN does a bit on it and they put on a psychologist to explain the behavior which the host is at pains to condemn as sick.  But wait!  Do I hear the first stirrings of a defense of outrageous her behavior?  Yes, I believe I do.

The psychologist, Robi Ludwig, is not trying to defend the accused; she's trying to explain her psychological motivations.  That's one thing psychologists do, and it's OK.  So she explains that teachers like this one perceive themselves, not as adults but as teenagers.

But here comes the kicker:  first we hear that this boy comes from the home of a single father.  Then we see in a caption at the bottom of the screen that McCallum's attorney says she's not guilty because she was only "mothering" the boy.  Then we hear from Ludwig that the boy, like others who have sex with their teachers, was particularly in need because of what he wasn't getting at home.

And presto!  There you have it - a defense to statutory rape out of thin air.  Her only desire was to be a mother to the boy; he needed a mother because he came from a single-father home and so, in a roundabout way, it's the dad who's at fault.  It's more of a bid for sympathy than a defense, but I'd put money that that's the angle the attorney plays.

One other fascinating thing:  there are a couple of people who call into the CNN show.  The first asks a trenchant question.  (Paraphrasing) "We hear about these cases all the time and they all get off with just a tap on the wrist.  So why are we surprised when they keep happening?"  In other words, maybe punishment might have an effect on this behavior.

Care to guess what the host did with that question?

He ignored it completely, totally changing the subject as if the guy had never said a word.  He didn't want to deal with that one.

Thanks to Peter for the heads-up.

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Kavi   |60.254.37.xxx |23-01-2009 11:22:05 300 sexual episodes with a minor === 7 counts of rape. What is the formula here? Reply | Quote 0   0

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