Holly Lopez: Why Do Teachers Keep Having Sex With Students?

 Another story of a teacher pedophile sexually abusing students. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/315481/20120316/holly-lopez-teacher-student-sex-scandal-debra.htm  This woman preyed on two young boys. It took a lot of courage for this 14 year old boy to go to the police to report what was happening. A lot of damage has been done in our society when it comes to boys having sex with female teachers. Their have been those who made statements along the lines that they wished it happened to them, or how can that be abuse. It is abuse! There is a growing community of male sexual abuse survivors who are sharing their stories. Male survivor http://malesurvivor.org/ is one such community. The wounded warrior is a web site of a survivor http://whatislove-2010.blogspot.com/ is another. I am very proud of these men for coming forward and discussing something that used to get looked at different then the sexual abuse of girls. Their coming forward and sharing their stories is helping to change opinions on the reality that sexual abuse is just that sexual abuse. It doesn't matter if it happens to a boy or a girl. The damage is the same and the recovery from child sexual abuse takes years if ever.

One of the things that I learned from this article is that:

State laws vary on the age of consent for students.
In 20 states, it is not a crime for teachers to have sex with students aged 16 or older, according to CPIU.
In 23 students, sexual relations can occur with a teacher if the student is 17 and in 45 states relations can occur if the student is 18.
From 2008 to 2010, there have been at least 400 cases reported of inappropriate conduct between a teacher and a student.
Most cases of sexual abuse are never reported.

I knew that most cases of sexual abuse aren't reported and I hope this starts changing now that their are survivors sharing their stories on blogs and web pages. Technology has opened a whole new world for those of us who have survived child sexual abuse. I am very surprised that states condone any type of sexual relationship between a teacher and a student. A teacher is in a position of power over students and should never breach this. IMO it is an ethical issue. This is no different then a therapist having a relationship with a patient. The therapist has the power in then therapeutic relationship and should never breach this. Why states would condone this is probably part of Kinsey's plan to help normalize pedophilia. Next these states will start looking at age on of consent laws. I wonder how many parents are aware of this? I wonder if there is any data on how many teachers in these states engage in sexual relations with students older then 16? If someone knows it would be much appreciated if you would share this. Thanks, Rosie

By Anila Alexander: Subscribe to Anila's RSS feed

March 16, 2012 5:05 PM EDT

A special education teacher in Texas is being accused of having an inappropriate relationship with two underage students.
Holly Lopez, 32, is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy she tutored in math and his 13-year-old friend.

The student, whose name was not disclosed, said in an arrest affidavit that Lopez "would treat me like a boyfriend and touch my leg sometimes."

The two exchanged 841 text messages before meeting up at the home of the boy's 13-year-old friend to have sex.
"She arrived at the residence with condoms and then proceeded to engage in sexual intercourse with both students," said Pflugerville Police Department Lt. Laura Wilkes.
The relationship continued until Feb. 28, when the 14-year-old boy went to the chief of police because Lopez was continually texting him after the incident. 

Lopez was arrested Thursday for aggravated assault and conducting an improper relationship with a student. She is being held at the Travis County Jail with a bond set for $100,000. If she is found guilty she could face 5-to-99 years in prison.
Lopez quit her job after being put on administrative leave by school officials.

'I crossed the line'
Perhaps one of the most famous teacher-student sex scandals involves Debra Lafave, a pretty, young newlywed who abused a 14-year-old boy in 2004.
She pleaded guilty to having sexual relations and oral sex on four occasions with the boy, one of which was in school.

In an interview with Matt Lauer she admitted to crossing a line "that never should've been crossed."
"I made a really, really, really bad choice."
According to the Counter Pedophilia Investigative Unit, CPIU, around 15 percent of teachers sexually abuse of harass students. In half of reported cases, teachers are accused of abusing more than one student.
Nearly a quarter of all U.S. school districts have dealt with staff sexual abuse in the last ten years.
 'Just being rebellious'
Charol Shakeshaft, author of a 2004 study commissioned by the U.S. Department about teacher sex scandals said "sexual abusers in schools use various strategies to trap students."
"They lie to them, isolate them, make them feel complicit, and manipulate them into sexual contact. Often teachers target vulnerable or marginal students who are grateful for the attention."
Shakeshaft finds that a majority of teachers who target elementary school children hold a myriad of professional accomplishments. They usually are not suspected of misconduct because they are often winners of the "Excellence in Teaching" award or a "Teacher of the Year" certificate.
But how are these teachers trapping students?
The study found that female teachers targeting male students do not believe that there is anything wrong in their actions. Only when they are caught do they show remorse for their actions.  
New technologies has made it easier for teaches to prey on their students as well. Text messaging and email allow a teacher and student to communicate privately. Students have become more sexually mature because pornography is more readily available online.
Nowadays children are more likely to be unsupervised then they were a generation ago because both parents work.
State laws vary on the age of consent for students.
In 20 states, it is not a crime for teachers to have sex with students aged 16 or older, according to CPIU.
In 23 students, sexual relations can occur with a teacher if the student is 17 and in 45 states relations can occur if the student is 18.
From 2008 to 2010, there have been at least 400 cases reported of inappropriate conduct between a teacher and a student.
Most cases of sexual abuse are never reported.

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