What do you think of this news story? (See details?)

What’s to think? She (allegedly) abused her position as an adult and as an authority figure, as well as being an adulterer. She should be charged and prosecuted according to the facts of the case and the evidence provided.

They were 18? I say let her go. Yes, I would say that if she were a he and the he’s were she’s.

Was there any harm to the boys? If there was no harm, then I don’t see the crime.

If you define harm as happening automatically if someone is a teacher and others are students, then that seems wrong to me. Harm has to be shown specifically. We are individuals, not generalizations.

Show me the harm to these boys, and then we can talk about crime and punishment.

There is no harm, I agree, but she is in a position of authority and she showed lousy judgement. She lost her job, and maybe probation, but I don’t think jail time is warranted.

What I think is, where can I find this video they speak of?

Ms. Colleps signed an employment agreement not to have sexual relations with students, so her termination is reasonable.

As for whether she should be convicted, I don’t understand what law this decision is based upon. From the article posted, Prosecutor Elizabeth Beach said that Colleps signed a school policy promising to comply with the law to not have sexual relations with students. What law is this referencing?

Fired? Okay. Jail time? Honestly, no. They were all 18+ and all consenting. Jail time is bull.

She abused the teacher-student privilege and deserves to lose her job and possibly face some minor criminal charges. Twenty years (or frankly any years) in prison are incredibly stupid in my opinion.

Feel for the husband and kids.

Is having sex with an adult when you’re age 18 illegal in Texas?

Jail no, psychiatric help, yes.

I think, “why the fuck did I not have a teacher like that!?!?!”
Sounds like a potential sequel to Debbie Does Dallas.

She abused a position of authority.

She inveigled (because she was the authority figure it was up to her not to) the boys into immoral acts.

She cheated on her husband and family.

She deserves the full weight of the law to come down on her.

Oh, why not. Toss her in jail or execute her. Who cares? The Constitution is meaningless, why should state law be held in such high regard?

They can do whatever they want to her. They can do whatever they want to any of us, any time.

I’ll go part way with @marinelife on this. She abused a fiduciary relationship. That has a chilling effect on parent/student relationships, even outside her school, even in civilized states. She should be prosecuted.

The “immorality argument” would have been great in 1890, but not today. No sane person would expect to prosecute her for cheating on her husband (I understand Texans may assert the right to shoot her, but I’m just talking to the higher primates now.) To think she should be treated differently—“The full weight of the law”—because you think she’s immoral has horrible consequences for society. That’s the reasoning that used to allow the sordid past of women and their own church attendance records to be used as evidence exonerating rapists. The crime is the crime is the crime.

Whether these boys claim to have been harmed or enlightened by the affairs doesn’t matter. As a teacher she misused her position; society must act to prevent that behavior. Whatever she did outside her role as teacher is immaterial.

By the way, the fact that the boys enjoyed the sex (hardly seems remarkable) doesn’t mean it was good for them. Had she passed out pot brownies or helped them cheat on their SATs they might have seen that as a positive experience too.

@6rant6 Ok your point is there, but 20 years in prison???? ... Give me a break. Fire the lady, ban her from teaching again, and lets all move on. When did we become Saudi Arabia over here?

@6rant6 Hahaha funny!

Sigh….what to say that hasn’t already been said, except, maybe, a moment of feeling grateful that my life is quiet and drama free. Yes, 20 years is beyond overkill. :-/

Okay, here’s a question, what LAWS has she broken?

@King_Pariah Texas’ law of consent address student teacher sex.

@tedd I agree that 20 years seems draconian, but I think she should go to prison. Otherwise the message to predators is, “become a teacher, fuck your students, and if you get caught just leave the profession no one wanted you in in the first place.”

Would anyone see a prison sentence as more appropriate if the teacher had been a man screwing girls? Or a man screwing male students? I won’t ask about the fourth case, because we all know, that’s just hot.

@Adirondackwannabe Can you cite that law? I haven’t found it yet.

@6rant6 Why do you think that she should be sentenced to prison? What law did she break? It’s one thing to take a moral stance, but if it isn’t against the law, then a sentence of jail time is unjust.

Predators are not the norm. They just make for sensational news when caught. Then the panic sets in. Society in general wants to play the part of the arm chair judge and jury without all of the facts in place.

Is Ms. Colleps a predator? Possibly, but not enough information has come out yet to support it. There are many other factors that might have contributed to this situation. It is so easy to point the finger at one person.

If I had a son and he were involved in this situation, I would like to think that it was based upon a bad decision on his part. I can only lead by example and educate those interested to the best of my ability. An 18 year old makes his or her own choices and should know what the repercussions are. If they don’t, then I have failed as a parent.

I think the fact that she was fired was perfectly fair. I do not think she should go to jail, because the students agreed to this. If she had forced them in any way, she should go to jail, no doubt. But if all parts did it voluntarily, there should not be jail.
Whether or not this was morally correct is another kind of discussion. But you can not put people in jail for every wrongdoing, because then most of us would probably be going to jail. There’s so many evil criminals out there, why not focus on putting them behind bars?

@tups The point about her potentially forcing the students is valid. In that case, it would be rape. In this specific case, at least from the article provided, it doesn’t sound that way.

Amazing. This all happened in spring of 2011, and she has now been convicted.

On the other hand, the Army Major who is accused of having shot 41 people at Fort Hood (also in Texas) in 2009 is still awaiting a court martial.

Truly amazing.

Loss of job, for sure, but that’s it. Maybe some minor fines or something but they were all consenting adults as far as I see it.

@CWOTUS That is apples to oranges. The bottom line is that it depends upon the laws. Court case results can be appealed. Unless someone is able to show proof that Ms. Colleps broke the law, then it is worthy of appeal.

@uberbatman Why should she pay fines? Is there something in the school contract that states so?

Oh, I agree completely @Pied_Pfeffer. What she did was so much worse than murdering 41 people in cold blood. I’m surprised that they’ve let her live this long, it being Texas and all.

@Pied_Pfeffer Okay. Let me look. It was the exact wording of the law. It might take a few minutes. Try this.
http://www.youthrights.net/index.php?title=Texas_Sexual_Consent_Age_Law

@Pied_Pfeffer I don’t think she should, but I mean at the most thats what she should face.

@Adirondackwannabe Thank you for your due diligence in this case. It looks like 21.11 should not come into play in this instance since the students involved were over the age of 17.

21.12 is another matter. 21.12. IMPROPER RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATOR AND STUDENT. (a) An employee of a public or private primary or secondary school commits an offense if the employee engages in sexual contact, sexual intercourse, or deviate sexual intercourse with a person who is enrolled in a public or private primary or secondary school at which the employee works and who is not the employee’s spouse.

(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree.
(c) If conduct constituting an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section or both sections.

So, while Ms. Colleps may be guilty of breaking the Texas law, the next question is, is this penalty of potentially serving 20 years in jail and the possible fines involved worthy of the crime? Is this comparable to the penalties for other more heinous crimes?

This sounds like a case of manipulation and peer pressure. The truth may never come to light. It is just one more example of how justice and laws need to be re-examined.

@uberbatman If fines are not the penalty for the committing the crime, why should the guilty party be required to pay it?

@Pied_Pfeffer Again I DONT THINK SHE SHOULD. But if any changes are to be pressed then a fine is the most I believe she should have to account for, not jail time.

you’re arguing with someone who agrees with you….

@uberbatman My accept my apology. I can only go on what is posted and not the sentiments behind it. In my humble opinion, if there is no fine defined by Texas law, then it shouldn’t be a consideration or alternative solution. Residents have an obligation of learning the laws of the land in which they live in.

Wasn’t she still teaching them something? Gotta love Texas. They were young men eligible to serve in the military wtf?

If she broke a law (as the link @Adirondackwannabe posted and @Pied_Pfeffer‘s excerpt from it seem to indicate), then she should face legal consequences. Twenty years seems way too harsh for something like this, though.

This woman seems incredibly stupid, though. She couldn’t just wait a few months until they’d graduated? Sheesh.

It will be very interesting to see what she is sentenced to, it being Texas and all.

For everyone wondering, Texas state law prohibits student/teacher sexual relations, no matter the age.
Thanks for all your opinions. I know the article isn’t the best written one, but the others were so biased against her and were short and left out alot of details for a fair discussion.
I agree with quite a few of you in that she should get punished, just not as harshly as 20 years. SHe should get in some trouble, but nothing like that.
I know her husband is sticking with her, which is just crazy to me, but I feel worse for the kids. Think about all they’re gonna go through having to explain why they’re mother has been in jail for 20 years and not raising her children.