"I will never understand being a mother herself how she could have done those these things with my child," one of the boys' mothers wrote to the court. "At one point he felt his life was ruined and over. It was heartbreaking knowing he felt that way because he's so young and still has his whole life ahead of him."
August 3, 2007 - The Roanoak Times filed a motion to unseal the sentencing hearing of Karen Susan Patton. It included the above quote from the boy's mother.
According to the transcript, families of both boys moved to escape the public notice that followed the abuse -- one to another county and one out of state.
"He was depressed and bitter at times," probation and parole officer Michael Montgomery testified about one of the victims.
"He was ridiculed by fellow classmates that suspected his involvement with Ms. Patton. Ridiculed to the point that he was homebound schooled the second half of the school year, plus the following school year, he refused to go to school. He just freaked out every time he entered a school, because he felt like everyone knew."
Both boys have had seen a psychologist or psychiatrist in the wake of their abuse. Researchers say teachers who prey on young students often excel in their educational roles because it can bring them more opportunities to be alone with victims.
TT - That's what sexual predators do to their victims. They rob them of their youth, their optimism, their hopes for the future. They alienate them from their friends, fellow students and classmates they grew up with.
Sexual predators find gratification wherever they can find it, and if it's a child, all the better.
They're just kids -- 13-year-old kids. And when colleagues of the teacher or the family of the teacher post comments that say "You know how 13-year-olds lie." and "This can happen to any family." you lie to yourself. Because most people, thank God, are not so indecent.
Most people want 13-year-old boys to be boys.
