Letter: The punishment must fit the crime

About 100 U.S. teachers, mostly women, are charged with sex crimes each year, although many others go unreported. Affairs between teachers and students are becoming more common in both the U.S. and Europe, probably because the rise of social media has made communication easier and more private. In most of Europe, the age of consent is 14, while in American states it’s 16, 17 or 18. But regardless of students’ ages, teachers may be considered predators because their authority implies a potential for duress. No coercion may have been used and the student may even have bragged about the experience to his friends. Yet punishments for sex offenders are draconian, commonly far out of proportion to the crime. Full Letter to the Editor

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Awesome letter! Thank you!

The requirement to give email address and online identifiers was ruled unconstitutional under the Doe v Marshall decision by the federal court yet the county I live in still collects it when I go to register. I guess no one who can do anything is watching them.