"Teachers and coaches can hold significant influence over their students and athletes. When they use that influence to prey on high school students, it should be a crime." - editorial
June 26, 2008 - Editorial from the Hastings Star-Gazette, "Brookins case should lead to new state law" that would make it a crime for a person of authority to have a relationship with a student.
The case they cited is of Charles Brookins,( Entry) the former St. Elizabeth Ann Seton school teacher and athletics director, and former Hastings High School coach, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges stemming from two incidents in which he supplied alcohol to minors. He also made news last year for having an alleged sexual relationship with a student at HHS.
It is not a crime in South Dakota for a teacher to have sex with a student. Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom is still working to get a law passed that would make it a crime for a person of authority to have a relationship with a student. The law was heard at the last legislative session, but was cut from another bill. Read the whole thing.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Hastings, MINNESOTA
