Gack, why do people want to hurt kids?

[totoro]

So this (expletive) of the earth... I know he has not been proven guilty yet. But he was busted in a sting operation and the facts are pretty straight forward.

If you read this you will see why I am so upset, his office is less than a mile from my house!
Nothing has come up from any of the students... you can figure out my link to all of this by reading...
I am just sickened.
This doesn't change the fact that this is a small and wonderful SD. The Teachers are beyond awesome. But this has brought our community to it's knees.

I have had to think long and hard the past couple of days about this.
When I heard the news I almost threw up.
We drove by when the news crews were showing up and I said to husband I wonder what happened?

I am going to try to go to the meeting Friday night.

Once again, we can never be too careful.

Here are the 2 links.

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/298135.php

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/298331.php


I feel shaky and sick just typing this. I hate this for any kids he has ever hurt.

Mods:
If it is OK I am going to delete this info in a day or 2. too much information. Thanks.

 

[Hound dog]

It sickens me, but OMG am I sooooo glad they caught him.

Ya know, I've heard from endless ex-students of the sd that our superintendent (he may be retired now, they can't seem to make up their minds) was one heckova pedifile. The stories they told ......could make it hard to sleep at night. Yet no one dared to come forward. Not one. The people making the allegations have no reason to make something like that up. So, I believe it. But still no one stepped forward to put a stop to it.

People have got to remember, pedifiles go to where the kids are. Period. You've always got to be on your gaurd. If they looked and acted like monsters, they'd not be able to get close enough to a kid to have a victim.

So sorry you all are having to go thru this. I hope any victims he had are brave enough to step forward so he can be locked up a long time.

Hugs

 

[susiestar]

Such a tragic story for anyone linked in any way to this man's victims. Sadly most of them will never get help. Many will not get it until much later, but more won't get it at all.

There are so many decent, well-meaning people who work in schools all over the world. People like this man smear all of them.

I hope and pray that none of the children in your community were harmed by this man. I also hope that all of his victims can come forward and have families or other support systems that will help them get the therapy they need to have decent lives in the future.

It is actually amazing and impressive that the ICE agents gave this a high priority. Sadly, if it is happening outside our national borders we don't have the best reputation for being willing to go after this type of pervert.

Sending many healing thoughts to your community, toto.

 

[donna723]

How awful! You just never know, do you! To me, this sentence out of the article:

" ... and had taught English and computer skills to first- through third-graders while living in Thailand for two years."

... is a HUGE red flag! Is Thailand not supposed to be pretty much the 'child sex capitol' of the world? I never realized that this kind of thing was so organized though! From this article, it sounds like there are "travel agents" who organize tours for this kind of thing! That's just sickening!

And I never realized that there are websites, almost like the 'dating' sites for singles, where people can arrange to meet up with children, many of whom are being offered up by their own parents! In our very, very small town, one of our local attorneys (we only had three of them!) was arrested in Florida by federal agents after he exchanged emails with what he thought was a mother offering up her 12 year old! Apparently he had done this many times before, only this time the 'mother' turned out to be federal agents conducting a sting operation! Last I heard, he was in a federal prison awaiting trial, but I swear I saw him walking down the street yesterday! Hard to mistake him because the man weighs close to 400 pounds! This was a welll respected professional man in the community, one of those 'pillar of the church' types. I do feel very sorry for his family though. He had a nice wife and two lovely daughters! The older daughter was one of my sons closest friends all through high school, a very sweet girl. Makes you wonder about his own children too!

 

[AnnieO]

I'm nauseous.

This kind of thing makes you wonder how many people near my children are like this. Especially after what happened to difficult child 1.

Ewww.

 

[WhymeMom?]

What a sad situation.......for years I always thought why aren't there more male elementary school teachers...... seemed to me it would have been great to see a positive male role model everyday at school for young children, but now everyone looks sideways at men who want to go into elementary education........ makes educators everywhere cringe when they see stories like this......

Yeah, the Thailand thing threw up a red flag for me....... surprised the interviewers didn't delve into this more when he interviewed, but maybe it was missing from his resume then..........

 

[AnnieO]

Ya know...

Heterosexually speaking...

If a female teacher seduces a male student (I'm talking high school here), he's a stud. (If he complains, it makes the news - but fades fast.)

If a male teacher seduces a female student, she's a **** and he's a pervert. (And he is vilified over and over and over.)

Double standard? Yes. But that's the way it happens.

Either way it's disgusting.

 

[totoro]

The Thailand thing was the first thing I said to husband... I felt bad for thinking that. But it is like you said Donna, they have one of the worst reputations for looking the other way in regards to these kinds of things.

I am very impressed that he was tracked and pursued at all.
But the fact that he has taught and been involved in so many Schools...
Our Principal of our School is on a traveling vacation right now. I really hope she is enjoying herself, because things are going to be so hard once she gets back.

The thing that husband and I are worried about also, it that we are a very close yet open mixed community. Tucson is very much like this.
All walks of life are truly excepted here.
We have male staff, gay staff, black, hispanic and special needs staff, conservative and liberal!
I just hope this doesn't freak people out and lead to bigotry and rascim.

Thanks for the support, it is scary. And it happens way too often.