3 Critical Facts to Understand About Teacher Sex Abuse of Students
Teacher sexual abuse Utah cases of underage students have been a continuing problem in the last few decades, especially as more and more cases become known to the general public. Two schools of thought float on why the numbers are increasing:
- Some argue the problem has already been present; it’s just more apparent now with increased reporting and more laws requiring signs of the issue to be reported or specific witnesses in education can be held criminally responsible as well. However, when kids aren’t in school, who’s watching anything?
- Others argue the problem has increased since earlier years thanks to a culture that is exposed to more deviant information available on the Internet.
Whichever the case or a combination thereof, teachers who engage in sexual abuse do exist and they tend to have at least three common characteristics or patterns in almost every case.
Fact 1 – The First Story is Never the Whole Story
In almost every case that ends up being reported, investigated, and prosecuted, the first reported story that shows up the media is practically never the whole story of what actually occurred in an abusive situation. Social media has only increased the fog between allegations and facts. Unfortunately, in today’s 24/7 hyperinflated news circuit, reports, and news agencies are rewarded by who breaks the story first, not necessarily who is the most accurate. As a result, reports are oftentimes missing critical details, parties involved, and timelines, and there is a lot of risk for embellishment as reporters under deadlines are under high pressure to fill the gaps to make a report interesting.
Fact 2 – Offenders Tend to be Younger and Male
Academic research, outside of the spotlight of the media and 24/7 pressure as well as under higher scrutiny of peer review, has found a basis that offending teachers in sex abuse cases tend to be younger in age and male. They frequently have a very shorter tenure and time on the job as well as being in their 20s and early 30s age-wise. The correlation of age, both in career and physical time, with sex abuse, aligns closely with the stereotype paradigm of the single male unhindered by marriage always on the hunt for conquest, with students already being in prime position to be willing victims. However, the research doesn’t respond to this extension of motive. Instead, the statistics involved tend to simply confirm younger, male teachers are a higher potential for sex abuse of students than any other demographic.
However, when the potential of a young male teacher being involved in sexual abuse is perceived, the public perspective tends to be harsher on a male teacher abusing a female student than compared to how a female teacher abusing a male student is perceived. Research has found that male student victims are perceived to suffer less and achieve more benefits from a female abusive teacher than the opposite with a male abusive teacher.
Fact 3 – Coaches and Extracurricular Teachers are Not the Main Culprits
One North Carolina study found that of 688 cases of license revocation, 458 were associated with sexual abuse of a student. Of the sexual abuse cases, only 69 were employees who functioned as a coach or music teacher versus other teacher roles. The myth of the hyper-testosterone coach abuser, while regularly hyped in the media, did not pan out in the study based on the statistics actually measured and collected. Instead, the high majority of abuse revocations involved teachers in traditional academic roles or other than sports and music.
Contact Wasatch Defense Lawyers Today!
If you or someone you know has been accused of being a teacher and sexual abuse of a student, it is essential to have experienced and specialized criminal defense as soon as possible. Instead of answering questions, a teacher should be asking where is the best sexual abuse lawyer near me. The more the teacher engages with law enforcement without the best criminal defense attorney Utah protection, the stronger the case can be made by the prosecution without all the facts involved in the court. Not every case that shows up in the media is the truth, and it’s the defense’s job to make sure all the facts come out in a trial, not on the prime time news. Call Wasatch Defense Lawyers today to find out more information as soon as possible for the best criminal attorney Utah resource near you.
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