Very interesting reading Patron, thanks for this.
It still leaves me thinking. As adults, and as teenagers, there are a few relationships that we consider toxic after the fact, and we regret them. I can recall a few high school friends I would have rather avoided had I known they were to backstab me the way they did. I learned. The same goes with our sexual experiences: some good, some bad, some regrettable. When does this become criminal? Because it fucks up our subsequent relationships? How many of you had wives/partners who fucked up their subsequent relationships? Are they in prison for this? (maybe some of them should be, but that's another story....)
I guess what kills me is the black and white, no nuances and no judgement. If you're a boss having sex with your secretary, well, you're just a boss fucking his secretary. If the secretary is being forced, manipulated or coerced in any kind of way that's an aggression and I agree with being severe with this, and the same goes for teens. But if an adult "in a position of trust or authority" had any type of relationship with his/her student, they are a sexual predator. That's a quite strong word. A teenager is unable to consent, the teachers are sexual predators. There is no nuance. Not to say they are not to blame for their poor judgement, not to say they should not receive an administrative sanction or even be fired. But criminals? Being imprisoned? Remember an inmate costs $110K/year in this country.
Do we need to stop all teacher/student interactions, I'm not sure. Will high prison or penalties stop it? Ask the Chinese, for e.g., who punish drug smuggling with death penalty. Doesn't stop smuggling, they're one of the major sources of Cocaine in the world... Do imprisoning teachers change anything? I doubt it. Insanity is keep repeating the same thing expecting different results, so maybe we ought to try something different.