UT - Leisa Ward for sexually abusing teen boys, Nephi, 2007

http://www.kutv.com/content/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=8d9c6f6c-fc3d-4a03-a397-729c03b88a89
NEPHI - A 37-year-old Utah mother -- and former substitute teacher -- has admitted to engaging in illegal sexual acts with at least five teenage boys.

and

Ward, who formerly taught as a substitute teacher in the Juab County School District, will be sentenced on Feb. 28 but due to her plea deal she will avoid serious felony and misdemeanor child sex and lewdness charges. However, she still will face sentencing on 11 charges stemming from the illegal sex acts. (much more at link)

:behindbar :furious: Her husband is supporting her.

IF this had been a male offender, there would be no plea deal, would there? This just seems so wrong.

Oh Taximom - I am afraid you are soooooo right! Why is it that our laws do not protect our male children like they do our female children? Why is it okay for a female to suduce or rape a young boy but if a male touches a young girl, they throw the book at him (which is what should be done!). The harm to the young boy is the same and it is of equal importance! Yet these women, at most, seem to get "house arrest" if they get arrested at all.

The laws and sentencing regulations should be the same across the board, it should not matter the sex of the child or the sex of the offender!

And maybe I'm wrong here, I have not done any research, but is this female abuser becoming more prevalent? Seems like we hear about a lot more of this type of crime then ever before?

Salem

This male ex-teacher got 35 years. And 10 years probation after that.

http://www.goshennews.com/local/local_story_018225553.html

Well, hopefully she'll get a lot of years behind bars for ruining at least 5 boys' lives....

Delurking (after forever!) to post this: http://www.slate.com/id/2134158/

It's a misconception that women get a slap on the wrist or lighter sentences in these kinds of teacher sexual abuse cases. Females and males are convicted at about the same rate, and women actually get heavier penalties when the cases are similar. Males involved in cases with older victims, single victims, and no threatening behavior actually get lighter sentences than females in similar cases. Although males do, on average, get sentenced to slightly harsher penalties, that is because cases involving male abusers are far more likely to have younger victims, multiple victims, prior convictions or histories of abuse, or threatening/coercive behavior.

Of course, none of this excuses anything for either gender, and we certainly should have far stiffer penalties for anyone in a position of authority over children who abuses that trust. But it's simply not true that women get a "slap on the wrist" while a man gets "tossed in the slammer immediately." The relatively few cases that we hear about in the media skew our perceptions on that way out of proportion. It's the same kind of backlash that would have us believe that, all across the country, women are falsely screaming "rape" just to get back at an ex, and causing thousands of innocent men to be jailed solely on the word of a woman scorned, when the reality is that most rapists are never convicted and most rapes are not taken seriously, particularly if the only evidence is the woman's word.

Hi Mouse! Thanks for delurking and posting that. Must the fault of the media then for only publicizing cases like this. I certainly hope both men and women are justly treated for crimes like this.

Post more often!!

She's a sexual predator....just the same as male sexual predators. I say lock her up for life because statistics show she will never change.

I agree.
A sexual predator is a sexual predator period.
The gender of either the victim or the molester should not even be an issue.

I wonder how old her own kids are. I would be so ashamed if that was my mother and everyone knew what she had done. Her family is in counseling...gee, I wonder why! This is one sick woman she didn't deserve any kind of a plea. I don't understand why they do that. It makes me furious.

This lady is very attractive so maybe her attorney will tell the judge that she is to pretty to go to prison and she will get to stay home for 3 years on house arrest too. Wouldn't surprise me one bit. I think judges and Pros's are easier on women. Maybe that is why there are so many of them doing this kind of karp these days. What's with all of the teachers anyway? Have they gone crazy?