Sounding Alarm on Student-Teacher Sex
Nov. 1, 2002 -- When 35-year-old elementary school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau admitted that she had a sexual affair with her 13-year-old student, the nation was stunned.
Leourneau's affair with Vili Fualaau, who is now 18, resulted in a baby girl. The teacher was found guilty of child rape and given a 7 ½-year suspended sentence.
"I did something I had no right to do, morally or legally," Letourneau said at the time. "It was wrong and I am sorry. It will not happen again."
But it did. Letourneau was sent to prison, where it was discovered she was again pregnant by Fualaau.
As startling as this case was, it's actually not so unusual.
In a 10-year span, 25 percent of all school districts in the United States dealt with a case of sexual abuse, according to a 1998 report from the U.S. Senate Standing Committee on Children and Families. A quick search of newspaper reports around the country found more than two dozen teacher-student sex scandals in 2002 alone.
Teacher, Student Run Off to Vegas
One such case is that of Tanya Joan Hadden, a 33-year-old science teacher from San Bernardino, Calif., who began a friendship with a 15-year-old boy in her class. But last spring, their friendly relationship turned sexual, and word of the affair leaked out.
In April, police began investigating reports that Hadden had purchased alcohol for the boy and another student at a party. Then the teacher and the boy disappeared together, without the teen's parents' consent.
Four days later, police arrested Hadden after she and the boy were found at a Las Vegas hotel. She was convicted and handed a 13-year prison term in Clark County, Nev., but the judge then suspended that sentence and simply put Hadden on probation for five years.
The boy's mother, Ida Pena, said Hadden drove her son home from school at times, but she didn't know they were having a relationship.
"We had no idea this was going on," Pena said on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America.
Pena said her son and her family have been forever changed by the affair with Hadden.
"He has been devastated by this," Pena said. "Her [Hadden's] apology means nothing to me. Probation is an injustice."
Children's Advocate: ‘It Is Abuse’
Terri Miller, an advocate for an organization called The Safe Education of Children, says she has been outraged by news stories from around the country of sexual relationships between teachers and students.
"I believe it's been going on for decades," Miller said. "It's just now being recognized for what it is, and it is abuse. It's not a relationship, it is not an affair, it's not a liaison going on between a teacher and student."
Other high-profile cases in recent years have brought a lot of attention to teacher-stundent sexual relationships.
In Gainesville, Fla., last spring, parochial school teacher Sanjuanita Cardenas was accused of having sex with a 15-year-old student, which resulted in the birth of a baby girl.
In Dayton, Ohio, last year, former music teacher Jason Neuwirth was sentenced to prison for engaging in sexual behavior with a 15-year-old student.
Miller says the emotional damage suffered by the students who have been involved with teachers goes on long after the sexual relationships are over.
"Often times boys are even more traumatized because there's so much pressure in our society for boys to be strong, to not show themselves as victims," Miller said.
Pena says her son's experience with Hadden has hurt his social life and his performance at school.
"Since they gave her so much publicity on television, he has been having problems at school," Pena said. "His grades are suffering, and we never had that problem with him before."
Miller says it's up to the adults to protect kids and teenagers from being taken advantage of when they're in school. She and Pena believe tougher sentences for teachers who have sexual relations with students might help.
"There's an imbalance of power there," Miller said. "A student has no chance of behaving appropriately here. It's the adult's responsibility to behave appropriately."