Charges Dropped Against Former Miss Texas Contestant

A while ago I wrote about the legal age of consent in Texas. My issue was that a female teacher was arrested for “allegedly” having sex with her 18 year old student. Texas has a strange provision in the law that applies to educator/student relationships and the teacher could have been imprisoned if found guilty.

The beauty queen was sort of vindicated. I say sort of because the charges were dropped but the predator image may be hard to shed. I made a sexist comment in my previous post. I said that if indeed something sexual was going on, the “victim” likely high fived friends. She was a former Miss Texas contestant. Well here is another sexist comment: She is lucky she is a woman. She may be able to shed that image easier than a wrongly accused man.

posted Sep 22nd, 2006 by michelleshinghal
  • Yizmo Gizmo

    What doesn’t make sense about this
    sex-based discrimination is that
    in society younger woman typically
    go out with/marry older guys.
    So the older woman/male teen liaison is even more
    a deviation from typical dating/screwing schemes
    but she gets off the hook and a male teacher wouldn’t.

  • michelleshinghal

    Your point is well received but you must keep in mind that she was accused of sex with an adult. She was at the time 25 and he 18. The only thing she admitted to was inappropriate text messages and the charges were dropped.

  • Geoff

    Michelle — setting aside the questionable legislation, do you believe that the school should have the right to fire her if it wants?

  • http://www.boortz.com Brain Dead Sheeple

    So if your 18 your old enough to be cannon fodder for the empire BUT if you’re a student the government must “protect” you from your teacher in these matters. Why? Because IT’S FER DA CHILLDERN! IT’S FER DA CHILLDERN! The politicians, cops and bureaucrats can pass any legislation, no matter how idiotic, if they just shriek IT’S FER DA CHILLDERN loud enough and often enough. And the Amerikan sheeple just love it.

  • Stuart Richards

    Sweet, we scored the overboard sarcasm guy ALREADY.

  • http://mythofhonor.blogspot.com/ JamesH

    Back when I first heard of this law, I immediately thought of this scenario (2 adults, not a woman teach, mail student). It seemed to run contrary to that constitutional right of free association.

    Though it could be treated as an ethical violation, much like a doctor sleeping with a patient. (Not criminally illegal, but administratively (i.e. license goes away) illegal).

  • Yizmo Gizmo

    I don’t think it’s overboard.
    That’s exactly what’s occurring–
    ridiculous overboard legislation
    in the name of the CHILLDERN, like
    this ridiculous new bill where
    they can frisk/search any student at will.
    And if you oppose it then you’re a villain, a psycho,
    a scoundrel,
    because it’s FER DA ChiLLDREN!
    And it’s how Bush the Younger got re-elected.
    Remember those “Security Moms”?? LOL
    That vote was FER DA CHILLDREN too.

  • michelleshinghal

    I said in my last post that the school would be right to fire her. Employment is a contract and she breached her agreement. Jail is ridiculous for consensual sex between adults.

  • http://www.ilovephysics.com Chris Moore

    If you are a teacher, you do not sleep with your students. Period. Whether it be high-school or college. You could be 25 and the student could be 30, it doesn’t matter. It is unprofessional and grounds to be fired.

    Now illegal … no.

  • Geoff

    OK so I’ve got a few philosophical questions related to this case, if anyone can stomache them:

    1) Do you think that 18 is the correct age to define adulthood? Why not 17, or 22? Do you think the concept of “adult” can change over time, or over cultures?

    2) The meat of this case seems to have more to do with social taboos than the law, especially considering that the average reader here is libertarian and probably agrees that this law is unjust. Should violating social taboos be cause, in and of itself, to terminate a contract? Example: I contracted with John to fix my car, but later found out John is a pedophile; therefore, I am justified in terminating this agreement. Should I still owe John any money? What if the taboo involved violance, like rape? Even though John has never displayed any aggression toward me, am I justified in cancelling the contract “just in case”? Should I still owe him money? Could it be considered fraud that he did not warn me ahead of time?

  • michelleshinghal

    In my previous post- linked to this one- I said:
    I personally think the age number actually changes from person to person and even then it may depend on situational context…

  • michelleshinghal

    And I think you would owe John the money for the car repair.

  • http://freelancify.com Nigel Watt

    You’d have to have a clause in the contract allowing you to fire hi, for such reasons, of course.

  • Sandra Kallander

    21 used to be the age of consent. There’s a reason for that. An 18 year-old’s brain is still growing. So is a 21-year-old’s brain, but it’s further along.

    We’d still be at 21 if it weren’t for the draft during the Viet Nam war when voters decided if you were old enough to go to war, you were old enough to have adult rights.

    Of course, the logic is somewhat faulty. Some wars, willingness to go is proof of immaturity.

  • http://freelancify.com Nigel Watt

    Phwoar. You’re saying “brain still growing” means “too young to have sex”? So, people are too young to have sex when they’re most physically and hormonally inclined to it? That makes no sense.

  • David

    Adulthood begins at the end of puberty, period. We have some strange ideas here in this country about when adulthood begins. It could be the religious influence in our society, I don’t know. My brain is still growing in the fact that it is still making new “connections” or electrical pathways and I am 37, does this mean that I am not old enough to engage in sex? Of course not.

    People between the rough ages of 15 to 18 are emotional immature because we force that immaturity on them. This of course leads to many common “problems” that society has created for itself. Like teen age sex, of my god!

    As far as this story of the teacher in Texas, she did nothing illegal and the whole thing is rather silly. Texas is quickly becoming another California. Sad.

  • Julian

    We are placing socially sanctioned, state enforced, barriers to the normal maturation process of children to adults.

    1. Arbitrary setting of age of 21 to drink alcohol
    2. Increasing the age to drive vehicles without curfews and passenger limitations
    3. Age requirements for certain jobs and requiring work permits
    4. Age requirements to hunt even with a parent or adult

    There are many more.

    Ever wondered why a 25 year old acts like a 14 year old? We force stunted maturity. I was on my own at 18 and never looked back. I did not, as many of you do, continue to go to the parent money well long past 18.

    I don’t blame you, I blame the dumbing down of you and the state forced restrictions you have on you that stunts your emotional maturity. Your parents (my generation) are responsible for allowing the state to take control of your life. Most of them did not give a crap about what was happening.

    Now, don’t burst into tears over the truth. Get a grip and grow up!

  • getreal

    Sandra talks rubbish. Age of consent was not 21 and going down. Age of consent in the US was routinely around 10 in the mid 1800s. During the progressive era it started rising rapidly. The non Progressive states, (the Bible Belt mostly) kept the age of consent relatively low. So it was much lower for a lot of our history. Went up from around 1890 to 1920. Stabilized until the 60s and then started coming down again.

    By the way you say it was good for her she wasn’t a man. True. Imgine also what they would have done it were a gay relationship! Lynch mobs, foaming at the mouth fundamentalists in white sheets lighting torches.

  • IanC

    Both Sandra and getreal need to be corrected.

    Age of MAJORITY was once nation-wide set at 21. This was the age dropped to 18 during Vietnam.

    The age of consent, however, in most states is somewhere around 16. In Hawaii, it remains 14. In much of the country the age of consent was once set around 10-12; it varied greatly from state to state. This is the reason why, for example, it remains legal to marry a twelve year-old in Texas if you have the 12-year-old’s consent. And yes, it is legal regardless of ages to have sex with your legal spouse.

    This woman A) did not deserve legal action (nor would have a man), B) Does not deserve to be fired. Reprimanded? Perhaps. But fired? No sirree.

    In terms of social deviance, this scores just about as high as the married couple whom were fired from their teaching jobs because someone peaked in the window of their house and caught him pegging her anally. (They had to look around curtains…)

    Just my two cents.

  • IanC

    Corrollary:

    Far too many libertarians emphasize a lifestyle of personal conservatism and do not support those whom are socially liberal in personal lifestyles having sufficient rights to live their lives normally.

    Here in Arizona the problem is rampant. I’m sorry, but the leadership here are basically anti-gay, anti-hispanic bigots, many of them.

    State Proposition 103 has the SUPPORT of the AZLP. (Proposed state law to ban/forbid the *use* of Spanish in government settings. Even voluntary use.)

    End non-sequitor.

  • http://freelancify.com Nigel Watt

    Re #19: I believe it’s still 13 in New Hampshire. Not quite sure why I know that.

  • IanC

    Nigel — it varies from state to state these days, but the age of consent *primarily* is 16.

    A lot of states have laws regarding consent and sexual consent. You can sign contracts and be employed at age 16 in Pennsylvania, but you can’t have sex until you’re 18.

    WTF?

  • GreginOz

    wOW, LAST 2 CENTS WORTH FROM DA ‘G’…Yee godz, what I would have given to be sexually preyed upon when I was 14, hell even 15, for Godz fuckin’ SAKE, 17 !!!! Willl SOMEBODY PLEASE FUCK ME (SOB). OOOOOOH NOOOOOO, No sirree, yep I had to wait until EIGHTfucknTEEEEEEN, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ! What a bullshit story, any boy worth his balls was pantin’ to go for it from his first woody

  • Julian

    GreginOz

    You are truly crude.