Underage sex with female teachers “a gift from God”?

There is a scene in the 1977 film Animal House when the “animals” of Delta House are causing chaos during some parade, and somehow a woman dressed in a Playboy Bunny outfit is launched into some kid’s bedroom, where he is “reading” a copy of the magazine. When she lands on his bed, he exclaims “Thank you, God.” There is this belief in Western society that once boys reach puberty, the hormonal changes they undergo “instinctively” switches to sex scavenger mode. The reality is that this has more to do with personality, and most boys are as nervous about the prospect as girls are, at least initially. A little “’encouragement” is always helpful. It shouldn’t be surprising that such “encouragement” leads to “results” when offered by a more experienced hand, like an older woman, say a high school teacher. 

Because the focus on sexual assault is almost exclusively centered on male perpetrators and female (and in pedophile cases, male) victims, there is this refusal to accept the fact that there is anything “wrong” with a female teacher (or any older—and married—woman) taking advantage of an underage male’s “curiosity” about sex, thus more vulnerable to predation. In movies, sexual relations between older men and teenage girls (such as in Stanley Kubrik’s Lolita) was always regarded as taboo or just plain wrong; but if it was between teenage boys and older women, it was just part of the “coming of age” story. That many boys don’t see anything “wrong” with this doesn’t make it “right,” but that is the way society often treats these cases.

The media talks about an “epidemic” of sexual assaults against women, based mainly on broad definitions and supposition, while ignoring a “surprisingly” high number of cases of female teachers having “relations” with high school (or younger) students. The fact that they are teachers is only important in that we know of them because of their public profiles; the truth is that they probably represent a very small fraction of all such cases, which go largely unreported and unknown. Even in cases which are known, what happens next is entirely expected. For example, Elizabeth Garner—age 42—a former cheerleader for the Tennessee Titans football team, was charged with having oral sex with a 12-year-old boy. The buxom blonde was sentenced to 18 months probation; no doubt prosecutors believed her story that she was “drunk that evening and she got the boy confused with a man.”

This isn’t just with teenage boys (and girls). One study reports that 12 percent of all sexual assaults on children under age six are perpetrated by women, Another study contradicts the idea that sexual transgressions in which females are the perpetrators are “harmless” liaisons, suggesting that in 70 percent of cases, female sex offenders used “extraneous violence” to “persuade” their “partners.”

Of course, sex between female teachers and students is so rare, it doesn’t fail to make headlines, unless, of course, the paper is the Seattle Times with its gender politics agenda—which should surprise at all, since the media in general doesn’t want to admit that it seems that female perpetrators outnumber the male in schools. The Tacoma News-Tribune, however, reported the other day that Meredith Powell, a teacher in a Tacoma school, was charged with “two counts of third-degree child rape and one count of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes” with boys ranging in age from 15 to 17. It was charged that during an assembly, she locked herself and a student in her classroom, and performed oral sex on him. She also sent the boy nude pictures of herself in a bathtub; the other boys “only” received fondling, kisses and “suggestive” emails.  

Powell was suspended from her teaching job, but a judge ordered her released without bail, and sent the “scared” woman to her mother. The media is buying whole hog the story that Powell was “drunk” when she sent the “sexy” texts; of course, alcohol tends to heighten personality traits that already exist. Powell certainly wasn’t “drunk” on anything but “gratification” during her school hour escapades. 

Not surprisingly, there is Facebook page devoted to “Free Powell.” The attitudes expressed shouldn't be at all surprising, with the influence of gender hypocrisy all too pervasive:

I'm almost sure the students involved were not traumatized considering they could have

1. Said no and left.

2. Report it immediately after.

But neither of those happened and it wasn't even the any of the victims that went forward and reported it, it was the victims girlfriend after getting an apology note from Powell.

She is the best teacher ever and she cant go to jail... I know she didnt do anything wrong she is a really cool teacher

Yeah....free powell....and then send her over to my house. Please.

From Tabitha Morton: She's not another MaryKayLaterneau because if you ever even read that news story properly that women was 34, and her student was 13, whom she also ended up marrying and having two children with. Now we're going way off topic because what Meredith did wasn't that extreme. So she sent a few flirty texts? It's the 21st century, technology is a big thing in our world were you not aware? Doing it in the classroom? Now that's every teen boys fantasy with an attractive young teacher. I think it was awesome that Meredith confessed and was honest about the actions she did rather then to lie about it. Also the thing I find the most ironic about this situation is it was glorified all because of the media. Oh a school teacher? God forbid! There are two sides to every story, also it takes two to tango. I'm not saying that makes her less guilty but it doesn't make up for the fact that huge age gaps having sexual contact happens every single day and not a single thing is done about it. I'm not saying it makes it right by any means. Humans aren't perfect, we all make mistakes. Please Michelle try to enlighten me by saying that you've never done anything unlawful, or risky. Sure you have, you just never got caught. Same appeals to Meredith, therefore I believe instead of showing negative support towards her, you should be uplifting her on her journey to making better decisions instead of belittling her and comparing her to a story that happened in the last century.

we need great teachers like this,,send her back in time to my school

But not everyone professed to see the “point” of this campaign:

Then how come a male teacher who is accused of the same crime towards a female student gets way more criticism than a female would? Either way she was in the wrong and just because she admitted to the crime, doesn't make it right! She'll always have to hang her head in shame knowing what she admitted to and now she'll be labeled a predator for life

She admitted wrongdoing already. Whoever put up this page – you need to do your research on boundary invasion and sexual harassment. It doesn’t matter what the boys *could* have done. It doesn’t matter who reported her actions. She was in a position of authority over students – kids! And she crossed the lines. She knew better and she made really bad choices. Trauma response is individual. You have no idea how the consequences of her actions are going to affect the victim(s?) in the future. She’s an embarrassment to the education profession. Another MaryKayLaTerneau.

One might observe that Mary Kay Letourneau has been mentioned a few times here. Her case made national news when the 34-year-old Des Moines, WA teacher—married with her own children—had an ongoing sexual relationship with the 13-year-old Vili Fualaau, who she had as a student as early as the second grade. She was originally convicted and sentenced to seven years probation by a female judge, who soon had egg on her face when literally weeks afterward police arrested LeTourneau when she was caught in a “compromising” position with the boy in a car. The pregnant (by Fualaau) LeTourneau then served six years in prison, and despite the fact she is a registered sex offender, she married Fualaau after her release from prison. Again not surprisingly, the tabloid media portrays this as a “love wins out” episode.

There is a website called Worldnet Daily, which posted a “big list” of female teachers—at least those it was able to find in an Internet search—who were accused of having sex with underage students, about 250 and counting since 2000. Many of the incidents involve sexual transgressions with girls. Here are a few of the cases:

Adrianne Hockett: “Accused of having sex with a 16-year-old special-needs student in a Houston apartment she rented for the get-togethers. The boy has testified the pair would “’have sex, drink beer and smoke weed.’”

Adrienne Laflamme, 60: “Science teacher at the Brevard County Juvenile Detention Center in Cocoa, Fla., was arrested June 25, 2008, for having a four-week heated affair with an inmate student, 17, within days of his release. The boy’s mother said the teacher regularly picked him up from their home to have sex at her own residence. Laflamme had sex with the student at least 15 times, including one threesome with a 14-year-old boy.” 

Allenna Ward, 24: “Minister’s daughter from Laurens County, S.C., was a second-year teacher at Bell Street Middle School in Clinton, S.C., when she was fired Feb. 28, 2007, for allegedly having sex with at least five boys. Some of the purported victims, ages 14 and 15, were students at Ward’s school. Authorities say the married woman had sex with the boys not only on campus, but also at a motel, in a park and behind a restaurant.”

Amanda Athey, 27: “Charged Aug. 8, 2007, in Huntersville, N.C. with three counts of indecent liberties with a female student and one count of sexual activity with a female student. The relationship came to light when the girl’s father became suspicious of the Hopewell High School English teacher’s friendship with his daughter. She had told the father she was married to a man named Cal but after her arrest, it came to light she lived with another woman named Callie.”

AmiraSa’Di, 30: “Clayton County, Ga., math teacher at Mundy’s Mill High School was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a student in November 2005. She reportedly remarked she didn’t think her relationship was inappropriate based on her Internet research, learning Georgia’s age of consent is 16.”

Amy Bramhall, 33: “Education technician was arrested in January 2006 after a 15-year-old boy at the alternative education school in Warren, Maine, told police he had an ongoing sexual relationship with her. Flirting allegedly eventually led to an estimated 200 sexual encounters. In December 2006, she received three and half years in prison, with all but one year suspended, and four years probation.”

Amy Elder, 28: “Ripley High School teacher and softball coach in Memphis, Tenn., was indicted June 4, 2008, on 15 counts, including rape and sexual assault, after allegedly having had sexual relations with two female students. ‘I’d heard rumors going around school that she’s seeing girls not guys,’ said one student, ‘but it wasn’t none of my business.’”

Amy Gail Lilley, 36: “Inverness, Fla., woman and softball coach at Lecanto High School charged with a lesbian relationship with a 15-year-old girl. She received no prison time, being sentenced in January 2006 to two years of house arrest and eight more years of probation.

AmyMcElhenney, 25: “Charged with having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old male student, the 25-year-old Hebron High School Spanish teacher and former Miss Texas contestant will not be serving any jail time after a Denton County, Texas, grand jury refused to issue an indictment in September 2006. While the age of consent in Texas is 17 years, a state law bans sexual relationships between educators and students even if the student is of legal age and the relationship is consensual. She could have faced 20 years in prison if indicted and convicted.”

Andrea Martinez, 26: “Schoolteacher with the Stanfield Elementary School District in Maricopa County, Ariz., was arrested June 30, 2010, when police, using night-vision goggles from a distance, observed two individuals in her white SUV appearing to have consensual sexual intercourse. Officers learned that the male in the car was only 14 years old and a former student of Martinez. Reportedly, both admitted to having sexual intercourse before the officers arrived and the teen claimed the same had happened the previous month.”

Angela Comer, 26: “Middle-school teacher from Tompkinsville, Ky., fled with her alleged lover, her 14-year-old male student, before being tracked down in Mexico where she reportedly planned to marry the boy. Comer later claimed she was forced at gunpoint by the boy to go to Mexico. She was indicted in January 2006 for illegal sex acts with a minor and returned to Kentucky. Charges included felony custodial interference, two counts of third-degree sodomy and four counts of unlawful transaction with a minor relating to sexual acts.”

Anne Knopf, 39: “Former substitute teacher at Prescott Middle School in Wisconsin was charged Nov. 5, 2007, with sexual assault of a child under 16. She is accused of having a sexual relationship with the 13-year-old former boyfriend of her own daughter.”

Autumn Leathers, 24: "English teacher at Mountain Ridge High School in Alleghany County, Md., was arrested Aug. 20, 2008, for allegedly having a sexual relationship with one of her 16-year-old students. Officers say they were contacted by a resident, who noticed the student at Leathers’ home several times in the late evening. Leathers was sentenced to five years of unsupervised probation on April 1, 2009.”

Becci Hill, 31: “Martinsville, Ind., counselor at Sanders School in Wayne Township arrested in 2006 for for sexual activity with a 15-year-old autistic boy. Prosecutors say what started as a mentor relationship turned into a sexual liaison that lasted a year. Hill would allegedly park her car down the street from the boy’s home, and he would climb out his window to meet her in the middle of the night.”

Brenda Baillargeon, 39: “Teacher’s aide in the Amery School District of Polk County, Wis., charged in November 2007 with having sex with a 16-year-old male student. The illicit seven-month sexual relationship with the high-school student she tutored included road trips and sneaking into his home in the early-morning hours for sex, according to the criminal complaint. She was his first love, and they planned to be married after she got a divorce, court records stated.”

Cameo Patch, 29: “Substitute teacher at Tooele High School in Tooele, Utah, arrested for allegedly performing oral sex on a 17-year-old male student. The sexual activity was allegedly consensual, and reportedly took place off school grounds after the pair had exchanged phone numbers in a restaurant. In November 2006, Patch was sentenced to no jail time, despite comments from the judge that a man would have likely gone to prison.”

Carol Flannigan, 50: “Boca Raton, Fla., music teacher reportedly slept with 11-year-old former student, and also had a simultaneous sexual relationship with the boy’s father. In a deposition, the boy’s father said he had the same sort of sexual relationship with Flannigan that ex-President Bill Clinton had with Monica Lewinsky. In February 2006, Flannigan was sentenced to five years prison as part of a plea deal.”

Carrie O’Conner, 33: “Counselor at Montgomery County High School in Mount Vernon, Ga., arrested Aug. 13, 2007, for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old male student. The relationship is said to have lasted from January through July. According to police, the abuse was first reported in March 2007 to a teacher and a probation officer, but they were reportedly reluctant to inform the superintendent because O’Conner is the superintendent’s daughter.”

Christine Scarlett, 36: “English teacher at Strongsville High School in Ohio began a sexual relationship with the 17-year-old captain of the football team, Steven Bradigan, in November 2002 and eventually gave birth to Bradigan’s son. Scarlett was fired from her teaching job, but insists nothing improper happened during the time she was Bradigan’s teacher. She was never charged with any criminal wrongdoing.”

Darcie Esson, 32: “Parker, Colo., English teacher at Elizabeth High School was arrested in December 2006 for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old football player the day after her divorce was finalized. According to the arrest affidavit, Esson and the teen had sex on the floor of her hotel room while her two children, ages 4 and 8, and their 17-year-old babysitter slept on beds in the same room.”

Deanna Bobo, 37: “Special-education teacher at Raymond E. Wells Junior High School in Greenwood, Ark., allegedly had sex twice in 2005 with a 14-year-old boy in his own bed while his parents were not home. She denied the charge, but was convicted in September 2006 of two counts of first-degree sexual assault and sentenced to 12 years in prison.”

Dorothy Dixon, 29: “Special-needs teacher at Northgate High School in Fayetteville, Ga., was charged May 27, 2011, with child molestation involving a 15-year-old former student. Dixon was arrested after her husband found sexting messages on his wife’s phone, confronted her and reported her explanation to authorities. The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office said investigators were alerted to what is said to have been a sexual relationship between Dixon and one of her ex-students, a special-needs student. When Dixon’s husband originally saw the sexual text messages, he presumed the communications were with an adult male.”

Heather Kennedy, 25: “Popular math teacher and track coach at Wantagh High School on Long Island, N.Y, was arrested March 27, 2008, and charged with statutory rape. She was accused of having sex with a 16-year-old male student in the parking lot of a neighboring high school. One shocked student said, ‘I’m really shocked. She’s an amazing teacher. She’s willing to do anything with the students.’ On July 22, 2008, while awaiting sentencing after having pleaded guilty, Kennedy was charged with having another five sexual trysts with the boy. ‘Almost immediately after she walked out of court, she was having contact with the victim by phone and in person,’ Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said.”

Erin McLean, 30: “Student teacher at West High School in Knoxville, Tenn., who became sexually involved with student Sean Powell in 2005. On March 10, 2006, police say McLean’s husband, using a shotgun, killed the 18-year-old boy as he sat in his car outside the McLean’s home…custody of the couple’s children was awarded to the wife. Erin McLean subsequently was hired, under her maiden name, at a Christian school, but was dismissed after a parent complained of her attentions toward a 17-year-old boy. She disappeared in Sept. 2007 from Knoxville with her children, telling an uncle she was going to California to meet someone she met on the Internet.”

Gail E. Gagne, 25: “Former weight-room supervisor and teacher at Cretin-Derham Hall, a Catholic school in St. Paul, Minn., allegedly conducted a sexual relationship with a male high-school football star, who worked under her supervision in the weight room. According to the complaint filed the first week of December 2009, the pair had sex in her home and overnight in a hotel in September 2008. On March 28, 2011, Gagne received a stayed jail sentence of one year and a $300 fine as part of a plea agreement. ‘The family is left holding the dirty laundry of the defendant’s unprofessional and self-serving actions,’ the mother of the male student was quoted as saying after the sentencing.”

Jaymee Wallace, 28: “Basketball coach in Tampa, Fla., charged with having an 18-month lesbian relationship with a student. Authorities say the student, who was 15 when she met Wallace, voluntarily had sex with the coach more than 50 times, in a parking lot at Busch Gardens and often at Wallace’s own apartment while a fellow classmate was in an adjacent room. According to the police report, the sexual relationship reportedly began in early 2003, after the student received a note from Wallace saying she ‘found her attractive and wanted to know if she felt the same way.’” 

Jennifer Rice, 31: “Tacoma, Wash., teacher arrested Aug. 11, 2007, for allegedly kidnapping and raping her 10-year-old student numerous times. Rice was an instructor at McKinley Elementary School whose contract was not renewed after the school received complaints she was socializing inappropriately with students. Authorities say Rice admitted she raped the fourth-grade boy at a rest stop, and court documents indicate the pair had intercourse several times on previous occasions, including once in the boy’s home. On Sept. 10, 2007, prosecutors filed additional charges against Rice for allegedly raping another boy, age 14-years old.”

Katherine Tew, 30: “Married English teacher from Greenville, N.C., arrested for having sex with a 17-year-old boy. She taught at South Central High School in Winterville, N.C., and was convicted of taking indecent liberties with a child, but found not guilty of the more serious sex charge. She was not given prison time, and lost her teaching license for at least two years.”

Kathy White, 39: “Teacher at Lumberton High School in Lumberton, Texas, charged with having sex with a 17-year-old student. The victim, Michael Ferguson, alleges: ‘She just started grabbing me and hormones were on and it just happened.’ Ferguson provided KBTV-TV with an e-mail allegedly sent by White, in which the teacher told him, ‘I get these cravings for YOU and that’s not NORMAL! If I had it my way, I’d do you once a week just because it’s good.’”

Leslie Baird, 42: “Teacher at Tooele High School in Tooele, Utah, arrested in 2006 for allegedly having sex with two male students, ages 17 and 18. The mother of the 17-year-old boy said her son’s grades dropped from straight As to barely passing in the wake of the activity, and he no longer participates in sports. In January 2007, Baird was sentenced to undergo a 90-day psychological evaluation at Utah State Prison after pleading guilty to a felony charge of forcible sexual abuse. Her judge was Mark Kouris, the same jurist who came under fire for giving Cameo Patch, another teacher at the same school, no jail time for performing oral sex on a 17-year-old male student.”

Lynn Saunders, 38: “A former basketball star at the College of Staten Island, the gym teacher at St. Paul’s School in New Brighton, N.Y., was arrested in March 2005 for allegedly molesting a 12-year-old girl whose family she had befriended. Saunders admitted to touching the girl’s breasts and genital area on several dates in February 2005. She received no jail time, only probation and registration as a sex offender.”

Margaret De Barraicua, 30: “Sacramento, Calif., area woman arrested in February 2005 after police found her having sex with a 16-year-old male student in her car while the woman’s toddler was strapped into a seat in the back. She pleaded guilty to four felony counts of statutory rape and in November 2005 was sentenced to a year in jail and five years formal probation.”

Melinda Deluca, 29: “Sign-language teacher at Copper Hills High School in West Jordan, Utah, was fired in December 2005 for allegedly having sexual intercourse twice with a 16-year-old male student she reportedly had been “grooming” for sexual activity. The case took a bizarre turn in the summer of 2006, when Deluca was found beaten and had to be airlifted to the hospital, claiming two teen boys attacked her as payback. In reality, she made up the claim in an apparent attempt to get sympathy. In January 2007, she was sentenced to 90 days in jail. The victim’ mother said she initially ‘hated [Deluca] with every part of my being,” but later expressed forgiveness, saying “even though she’s hurt my family, I’ve grown to love her.’”

Melissa Snow, 27: “English teacher at Sheridan High School in Denver, Colo., pleaded guilty to felony attempted sexual assault after being accused of having sex on numerous occasions with a male student. She was arrested Nov. 5, 2008, and was given no jail time when sentenced Aug. 4, 2009”

Melissa Weber, 27: “The social studies teacher at I.S./M.S. 8 in Queens, New York, was arrested May 29, 2009, after being found having sex in her classroom with a 14-year-old male student. According to another student, it was a common sight to see Weber after school working with several students. But authorities said the 27-year-old took particular interest in one student, having sex with the teen seven times from mid-April to mid-May, all after school. She allegedly told him: ‘Don’t tell anyone. I could get arrested and I could lose my teaching license.’” 

Michelle VanMeter, 35: “Catholic studies teacher in Fort Wayne, Ind., pleaded guilty Jan. 15, 2008, to having sex with multiple boys, ranging from age 12 to 15. In June 2007, VanMeter gave birth to a baby, and a paternity test revealed with 99.9 percent certainty the 15-year-old was the father of the child. In a separate case, VanMeter pleaded guilty to a single count of child molesting, stemming from the molestation of another boy. Those allegations surfaced during the investigation of the first case.”

Pamela Diehl-Moore, 43: “When this former teacher at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Clifton, N.J., pleaded guilty in January 2002 to having sex during the summer of 1999 with a 13-year-old male student in her 7th-grade class, she expected to be sentenced to three years, based on a deal worked out with prosecutors. But at her May hearing, Judge Bruce A. Gaeta sentenced her to probation, saying: ‘I really don’t see the harm that was done here and certainly society doesn’t need to be worried. I do not believe she is a sexual predator. It’s just something between two people that clicked beyond the teacher-student relationship. … And don’t forget, this was mutual consent.’ Following an appeal by prosecutors, Diehl-Moore was sentenced to serve three years in September 2002.”

Pamela Smart, 22: “Media-services director at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, N.H., had convinced her 15-year-old lover to murder her husband. She was arrested in 1993 and is now serving a life sentence. The Nicole Kidman film To Die For is based on her story.”

Pamela Rogers Turner, 27: “Former model and beauty-pageant contestant also taught at Centertown Elementary School in McMinnville, Tenn. She was arrested in February 2005 for allegedly having a three-month sexual relationship with a 13-year-old boy. She resigned her teaching position and was charged with 15 counts of sexual battery and 13 counts of statutory rape. Originally sentenced to 270 days in August 2005, she got in additional trouble in April 2006 for sending text messages, nude photos, and sex videos of herself to the same boy while using her father’s cellphone. In July 2006, she was sentenced to serve eight years for violating her probation, and in January 2007, was given an additional two years for sending the photos.”

Rachel Holt, 34: “Sixth-grade science teacher at Claymont Elementary School in Delaware reportedly acknowledged that in the last week of March 2006, she had sexual intercourse with her male student 27 times, and that she once performed oral sex on him. All of the sexual encounters allegedly occurred at the teacher’s apartment. Though originally indicted on 28 counts of first-degree rape, Holt pleaded guilty Jan. 22, 2007, to a single count of second-degree rape, and was ordered to prison to await sentencing. On March 16, 2007, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.”

Rebecca Robertson-Shaffer, 25: “Spanish teacher at Hilton Head Island High School, South Carolina, pleaded guilty in 2004 to committing a lewd act on a 15-year-old male student the previous year and received an 8-year suspended sentence and three years of probation. Three years later, on Dec. 2, 2007, the male victim filed a civil suit, charging the Beaufort County School District and the school board with negligence because they did nothing to prevent the abuse from occurring and under-reacted afterward. The suit recounts incidents where the teacher allegedly was ‘grooming’ the boy ‘in plain view’ of school administrators and would ‘inappropriately touch, rub against and/or hug the then-minor plaintiff.’”

Sandra Borrego, 41: “Dance instructor at Most Precious Blood Catholic School in Corpus Christi, Texas, was indicted Jan. 24, 2008, on charges she repeatedly sexually assaulted one of her 13-year-old students. Borrego was indicted on 22 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, and was ordered to undergo testing to determine if her baby daughter had been fathered by her alleged victim. Arrest records indicate the boy said he had sexual contact with Borrego on 20 to 30 occasions behind a curtain in the school’s cafeteria, as well as at her house.”

Abigail Holloway, 33 “The former gym teacher at the Christian prep school, Kings Academy, in Sunnyvale, Calif., was arrested March 5, 2009, at St. Mary’s Academy in Englewood, Colorado, where she was working, on charges stemming from an alleged sexual relationship with a female student lasting from 2001 to 2005. The girl, now a student at Whitworth College in Spokane, Wash., told a school counselor about the relationship that had occurred in California beginning when she was 13. During that time, according to the girl, she and Holloway were intimate over 100 times. ‘We have a very special relationship. It is a gift from God,’ states an alleged e-mail from Holloway to the girl in March 2003. ‘Not many people are going to understand that, but we know in our hearts that God made us for each other!’” 

And the list goes on, and on, and on. Almost like an “epidemic.” Not surprisingly, there are plenty of “apologists” for this kind of behavior. A study by Feminist Criminology, which wanted to discover if female sex offenders were treated more leniently than male sex offenders, seemed shocked to discover that this was the case, and blamed it on “chivalry” in the system. Not only that, contrary to the evidence, it claims that “The lack of attention to female sex offenders in sentencing research can most clearly be understood by the fact that there are extremely low numbers of female sex offenders. Although an accurate number of female sex offenders is difficult to ascertain, we can say with certainty that there is a marked difference in the number of female sex offenders compared to male sex offenders.” Despite the fact that it is “difficult to ascertain” the real numbers of female sex offenders given the likelihood that these incidents are much less prone to being reported, the victims are casually thrown under the bus.

The CDC’s 2011 report on intimate partner violence does not have a category of “rape” in which males are the victims. It is “impossible” for a woman to rape a male, even a child. The report does list “made to penetrate” or “sexual coercion” for male victims, but the idea, of course, is that males can’t “get it up” unless they want “it.” This ignores the fact that in the case of teenage boys or younger, “pressure” to perform to the desire of the older woman is much more in effect, and has little to do if he actually wanted “it” or not. In any case, the CDC study found that at least 7 million males claimed to be victims of some level of sexual assault—a quarter of whom reported being so in the previous 12-month period. Since sodomy is penetration and that which is “unwanted” is clearly rape, the CDC report can only be interpreted as including only those cases in which females are the perpetrators in the male victimization numbers. Statistics involving female victims, meanwhile, is confusing, because many of the numbers overlap; for example, there is no doubt that “alcohol/drug-facilitated penetration” is used in that category and to pad the numbers in the “rape” category. 

In any case, there continues to be denial in what the numbers mean, or even that they exist in any meaningful quantity that people should even care. But a close examination of the CDC statistics reveals that the numbers of domestic violence incidents involving male victims has reached near parity with female victims; this is not only due to the effort to actually quantify its existence, but the fact that 25 percent more males reported being the victim of domestic violence than women in the previous 12-month period. There was also near parity in the sexual assault numbers reported in the previous 12-month period. What this suggests that these things don’t “exist” because certain people don’t want them to, because they interfere with the current mythology; what doesn’t “exist” tends to increase, because society finds ways to “accept” it, or soft-pedal it.