Intimacy cases alarming / Teachers accused of crossing lines with students

OGDEN -- The recent spate of cases of teachers being accused of having intimate or sexually abusive relationships with students is alarming law enforcement officials and many in the education profession.

Since March, five Top of Utah teachers have been accused of having sex with their current or former students.

One investigation concluded without charges. Three teachers have been charged, with dates pending in Second District Court. One investigation is ongoing.

And that is just north of Salt Lake City.

At least four other teachers have been arrested in other areas around the state in recent months. To the north, an Idaho Falls middle school teacher pleaded guilty Friday to having sex with a 14-year-old student.

"Once is obviously too many. I am dumbfounded at the number of cases," said Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham, who recently investigated an alleged relationship between a former Roy Junior High School wood shop teacher and a female student.

"The appropriate boundaries are being blurred."

What is blurring the boundary lines?

Whinham doesn't claim to be an expert, but he has started to see a correlation between child pornography and sex crimes between adults and children.

He is also alarmed that these situations, which are occurring over a period of years, are not being discovered.

"This is a process of grooming and contact that in every case looks like multiple years. That is what dumbfounds me the most," Whinham said.

"We are not seeing it. If we are not seeing it, why not? This isn't something that happened last week. These are events that happened over time."

Can these situations be prevented?

Educators are trying their best, said Peggy Saunders, a professor in the department of teacher education at Weber State University.

Teachers must go through a screening process and background check to qualify for working in the classroom, but the majority have no previous criminal record.

While studying in the program, actual cases are used as examples in teaching future teachers how to avoid crossing inappropriate lines.

"If I were back in the classroom, I would be more wary about how I approach students," said Saunders, who taught for 14 years in the Davis School District and later became an administrator.

"The whole time I taught, I was single, but I never once thought of my kids as being in my dating pool.

"It's sick. I don't understand how anyone can look at these kids as anything more than kids, and you don't cross that line."

Saunders believes the problem goes beyond teachers having sex with students -- it's a societal issue.

"Yes, teachers have the position of trust and they wind up in the news, but this is far beyond teachers. They are not the only ones perpetrating crimes against children," she said.

"There are a lot of crimes going on against children across Utah that are not reported in the same fashion."

Mike Kelly, spokesman for the Utah Education Association, agrees. He doesn't believe there is a big difference in the number of cases reported this year and in years past.

The biggest difference, he said, is that more cases are being reported in the news. He said some cases turn out to be false accusations.

The Utah Office of Education said Utah has more than 27,000 licensed teachers, so it's only a very small percentage who have inappropriate relationships, Kelly said.

"Instances in the media have increased, but we're not seeing an internal increase of accusations of impropriety," Kelly said.

"It's good they are being reported to keep kids safe. But we have seen cases where these kinds of accusations are being used as a way to get back at someone. It's important that the individuals in these cases have an opportunity to due process."

Carol Lear, a former teacher who is now with the Office of Law and Legislation in the Utah Office of Education, can imagine how those rare cases occur.

"It's a stressful, high- pressure profession. You are always on stage, every day, all day, few breaks," she said. "You are expected to meet increasing expectations and accountability.

"Then there are emotional teenagers, students who need counseling, medical procedures, increasing complex family situations, various personalities and behaviors. It makes for a difficult, emotional environment."

Lear said teaching is an isolating profession in which adults are around their students all day and they become friends, a peer group.

"There is not much time with other adults. You spend all your time and have meaningful discussions with them and it's easy to see them as your friends," she said.

"It's completely unacceptable, but I can certainly understand how it might happen if you have been though it."

So how can teachers avoid crossing behavior lines with students?

Lear said teachers must be constantly vigilant and responsible regarding how personal they become. Text messaging and e-mailing are definite no-nos. Teachers must also be wary of including students on social networking Web sites.

Parents also should be responsible enough to be aware of what their children are doing, Lear said.

Parents should ask, "Why is this adult man/woman taking such an interest in spending time with teenagers?" Parents should also be careful not to put a teacher in a compromising situation, Lear said.

"It's really important that we focus on appropriate and professional behavior. How would a role-model teacher behave?" Lear said.

"You always have to be alert."