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LDS seminary principal is arrested in sexual abuse
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and don't give me this "it's just entertainment" junk.
Welcome to the real world.
Some of us know the nature of abuse and abusers well, regardless of a person's moral convictions. I am frustrated that the masses cannot believe "good people" can do this. Well, they can. And they do.
No one is immune so we all need to be careful.
I feel sorry the families concerned in this case.
Apparently all that and a bag of chips.
It does Not Matter if there was consent on the part of the Minor. She was to young to say Yes to a 37 year old. The fault lies with the Male. It lies more so because of the position of Trust. If we cannot Trust a person in that position then who can we Trust?
Other faith groups have Teachers and Youth Pastors going after girls 14 and up also. So it is Not just and rarely the LDS.
Something in his life caused this fall, it could have been porn on the Internet, the skinny dipping, object placement, sodomy, tend to lean towards that.
Perhaps a spouse shutting down or becoming so undesirable as to not being able to have a relationship. Looking for an outlet he finds an apparently willing 16 year old.
Problem is that its against the Law age wise weather she agrees to it or Not.
She is a Victim only because of the age factor.
In life growing up and now as an adult, whenever I see adults being "chummy" with, being an adolescent's best friend, or trying to be the "cool" adult (like "don't think of me as your teacher, think of me as your friend"), I am ALWAYS suspicious of that person's motives.
Adults in any position or profession that works with children should not be the kids' best friend! Going to seminary in High School, I never understood my fellow classmate's need to flock to the cool teachers - I was always skeptical. As a result of my skepticism, those former students are now hurt, and I'm not.
Bottom line- boundaries people! Your children's teachers could be pedophiles or your bishop who counsels you to not look at porn may be its biggest purchaser. Common sense and a fair amount of skepticim will go a long way to protect you. That way your world won't come crashing down when things like this happen.
BTW, Pratt taught at my Seminary as well.
I have reservations about people paid to teach the gospel. Everyone should just do early morning seminary.
T From PNG
Hmmmmmmmm. Now that is a shocking revelation.
Unless of course you stop and think about it for a moment or two.
Me: Most of the people defending him know him and have had extensive interaction with him. If it were a non-LDS person who had had the same type of personal contacts, influence, and interaction, you'd see the same level of incredulity and support.
It appears to me that you might be the one playing "different ballgames".
problem #2 - when the teacher starts believing that he or she deserves celebrity status.
The most encoraging thing about this dialogue is it is sending a clear message that we do not tolerate inapropriate relations between adult males and under-aged females.
While Mr. Pratt is innocent until proven guilty, and he deserves a fair trial, I see no reason to deney the charges, and as far as I can see the evidence is overwhelming against him.
The article CLEARLY STATES that Mr. Pratt has been terminated from employment by the Church. However, there are other factors involved in that, and you can not judge based on others decisions in a court of law.
The Church has to maintain a high moral propriety among seminary employees. Also in the wake of various sexual abuse suits, churches now tend to err on the side of caution.
I hope no one will engage in attacks on the character of the girl involved. She was manipulated and mislead by a man she trusted and who should have acted differently.
What do you mean by saying of the girl "she is messed"? Children are manipulatable, and to blame them for what was done to them is wrong. The article should not have said she consented, becuase legally she can not consent, that is the whole basis for statutory rape laws, children under a certain age are not capable of consenting to sex.
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I'm extremely uncomfortable with this attitude and I really feel like it can't go uncommented on. Although this girl "isn't 4," she is still a minor; there's a reason statutory laws exist. A teacher is put in a position of authority and influence over those s/he teaches; it's so, so wrong to say this girl "made her own choices" when these choices were presented to her by an adult whom she trusted.
I can't imagine what it's like to hear something like this about a former seminary teacher; I'm sure it's difficult. But you need to be careful in laying blame on this girl; statutory rape is a crime, regardless of whether the perpetrator is a seminary teacher or not.