I don’t really know how you feel about teacher-student sex or coach-player sex at the high school level. Personally, I have a hard time looking at some 16-year-old kid as a “victim” when he’s hitting some hot 23-year-old teacher. But that’s me. And, apparently now, the state of Georgia, whose landmark decision from its state supreme court has changed the landscape on age-of-consent laws in that state.
Melissa Lee Chase, a former high school softball coach, had a 10-year sentence overturned by that court last month. The conviction, stemming from a relationship with a 16-year-old at her school, was overturned since Chase was not allowed to use the 16-year-old’s consent as a defense. From The School Law Blog at Education Week:
The age of consent for sex in Georgia is 16, although school personnel are subject to the state law, revised in 2006, that bars them from sex with those under their supervision. The 16-year-old was in Chase’s class, but their romantic relationship began later. The girl testified that she had initiated and “pushed” the relationship with the teacher.
