I so hope he wins.

Wishing this right along with you. Can't beleive he was suspended but the teacher seems to have been allowed to stay? WTF?

The stupid fucker LIED about making out with the teacher. The teacher did nothing wrong. The little fuck deserved to be suspended. Falsely accusing someone of a crime is a crime.

Didn't you notice that he admitted his claim was a lie?

I think you should reread the article. His comment was a lie (supposed to be funny...I have a "dry/sarcastic" sense of humor but his humor is lost even on me) and the teacher had no involvement with him whatsoever.

While what he said was VERY wrong, the reaction from the police and school "administrators" was absurd.

At work, skimming, I did't realize that he was just joking.

Nevermind

My bad.

THAT'S why they came down so hard on this kid.

The teacher's career could have been ended very badly by that snide little bragging lie. Maybe the school over reacted, but you can damn well bet no one here would accuse them of over reacting if the district had shit canned the teacher had it been true. Unless there's more to this story than the OP presents, I think Mr Sagehorn is a nasty little fuck.

By the way, teachers and all school officials in my state are MANDATORY REPORTERS of sexual misconduct, so if any school officials or teachers saw that post and didn't report it, their jobs might very well have been in jeopardy, and if school officials didn't investigate and respond they could be criminally liable.

on edit: something somewhat similar happened to me a couple of years ago when a student used their anonymous course evaluation to call me a "nasty pervert" for showing "pictures of naked women" in class. The class in question was general zoology and the pics were the (non-photographic) illustrations of human reproductive anatomy supplied by the textbook publisher, but as an allegation of sexual misconduct that comment became the ENTIRE focus of my last post-tenure review. So yeah, I'd love to find out who wrote that evaluation and bring them before the Dean of Students for unprofessional behavior at the very least.

The world of PC.

Here in Lake County,. a young 20-somethng male teacher was home with his 20-something girlfriend.

A group of local HS students came by, wanting to talk and asking for help on an assignment.

The young man invited them into his house, forgetting that there was some soft porno on the TV.

The discussion relating to the assignment was had. Students left.

But when authorities overheard that there had been porno on at the teacher's house, and that students were there, the young teacher ended up with a three yr jail sentence, and of course the loss of his job.

What a terrible thing. the exact type of teacher we want, someone so engaging that students want to hang around him.

I have no idea if the sentence ended up being suspended, but the teacher lost his license and can no longer teach. All on account of what was probably one single moment of very bad judgement.

...but someone simply started the story that he did.

"C'mon, did anyone really see porn at Mr. Smith's house?"

"Actually, yes."


That's the sound of someone's life being destroyed by a stupid lie.

teenagers, I would agree.

But if you think teenagers are never going to be sarcastic, ever, I don't know about that.

And just who are US?

I've never seen anything along those lines from any Progressive, Liberal nor other DU members, until now.




BTW, is there a 'smilie' for Stupid Fuck?

Note, this does not apply to the poster as that might get this post deleted.

Just sayin'.

to be alarmed when reading about a possible student/teacher relationship? Sorry, sexual abuse is NOTHING to joke about. Period. No debate, no ifs/ands/buts about it. Just as bad as yelling "BOMB!" at an airport. You simply do not go around joking "I messed around with the teacher" or "I diddle kids." Seriously.

For four years of my life, all I heard was "Yeah right!' except for those times when I hadn't screwed up as badly and I got to hear "Whatever!"

Anyone anywhere that is deciding to do an investigation into any serious matter based on a teen's "Yeah, right!" ought to have their head examined.

I can imagine my son's jr high principal getting enmeshed in the discussion involved in the above OP. And his first question to the abrasive teen would be, "Were you kidding or were you serious? If serious, we need to help you out in dealing with the difficult and criminal situation the teacher put you in. If you were kidding, cut it out!"

The inquiry will be on her record forever. Sarcasm isn't always obvious in writing. You can't accuse an adult of having a relationship with a minor and not expect that to be taken seriously (and it always should be taken seriously and investigated).

I do think the district went overboard on his punishment though. But for him to sue when he was the one that started the whole thing seems pretty childish.

The result should be that they review their policies and have a better way to handle this type of situation in the future.

Meanwhile, you think the teacher should receive something from the student via the courts.

Yes he should be SOL. I don't really think the teacher should sue the student but I think she's the only one who has cause to sue in this situation.

Otherwise, there'd be no reason to review anything. Yet you're calling for a review.

There can be more than one bad actor in a situation. The kid did wrong, but the school also did wrong. One of them is a minor, the other is (nominally) run by adults who should know better.

He was suspended for too long. I do not think this rises to the level of a civil rights violation. Maybe I'm just missing something. He also says, apparently without irony, that his reputation was ruined. But his concern about his reputation seems to be based on how he was portrayed in news stories. How is that the school's fault? Maybe he should try suing the journalists? I don't think he will win.

So I do think the school suspended the boy for too long. However, I don't think the kid should get any compensation.

What do you think the outcome of this lawsuit should be?

Or a trivial award. He's only claiming his reputation got damaged, which is a rather tough battle as you say.

If he was suing over some harm caused by the overly-long suspension, he might have a case, but the $$ would be trivial. Hence the defamation claim.

A lawsuit by the teacher should also be thrown out, or at most an apology. It doesn't appear she suffered harm from it, and the statement was from a minor.

It wasn't overreach by the school district. That sort of claim can damage a teacher's career for the rest of his or her life.

I hope the court tosses this case out. The kid deserved fricken' expulsion for pulling a stunt like that.

You never imply that a teacher is having sexual relations with a student unless it is absolutely true, and then you tell the counselor, and, if they decline to act, talk to the police.

A label as a teacher who seduces students is far worse than people thinking a kid is an asshole for making a stupid internet post.

They have the power to help, they have the power to harm. Words start wars, words end wars. Words have power.

The fact that the kid said what he did should have consequences. The first amendment gives you the freedom of speech but it does not give you the freedom to yell fire in a crowded area when there is no fire. What the boy did, no matter if it were on or off school property should be considered a crime because he lied about a criminal act between a minor and an adult.

There are no "but what if.." scenarios here. The teacher could have been jailed by a simple accusation perpetrated by a kid who was being "funny" with his friends. That teachers life would have been ruined, her years of education thrown away, and her reputation ruined. All because a kid thought he was being funny.

For the kid to sue ANYONE for his being a liar is abominable, no matter the fact that he was thrown out of school or his reasons for doing it in the first place.

Nothing happened to the teacher. The kid admitted the statement was false.

or maybe not. The point of my statements were pretty obvious.

One of the reasons to bring things to a discussion board is to improve one's ability to discuss. Having someone point out the flaws in your argument is a great way to improve your argument.

You're complaining about what-if scenarios from other posters, while creating your own what-if scenario. That contradiction damages your argument. There's better options. In this case, I'd recommend embracing the what-if instead, and show that the teacher is in far more danger from any realistic what-if.

Often when you do something stupid, it comes back to bite you in the ass. Young Mr. Sagehorn has learned that lesson.

The way the school handled the situation was about as heavy handed as imaginable. They should be ashamed.

due diligence has to be done here.

But then no lawyers would get paid. Can't have that.

Sorry, but doe this one really believe in his "permanent record"?

Dumb question. Dumber answer/joke/ Lots of over-reacting from too many people. A lawsuit won't make it better (altho I suspect an out-of-court settlement will make him feel vindicated and cut down on the student debt he's going to have)