The importance of an individual in the White House can be roughly measured by the length of the title. The relationship is inverse. Less means more.
Barack Obama is President.
Rahm Emanuel is Chief of Staff.
Valarie Jarrett and David Axelrod are Senior Advisors.
Kevin Jennings is Assistant Deputy Secretary at the Department of Education for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. A long way down the line. But Jennings is making headlines. Conservative Christians charge him with abetting statutory rape. At issue is a counseling session he had as a teacher with a gay student. The youngster acknowledged sexual contact with a man he had met the night before at a bus stop.
Did Jennings have a legal obligation to report the incident? A teacher/student relationship is not legally protected as would be a lawyer’s relationship with a client, or a member of the clergy with one of the flock. But most of us want kids to feel free to talk with teachers in confidence, with some exceptions.
Criminal intent, physical violence, and child abuse are among the exceptions. Statutory rape is a form of child abuse, and has to be reported. Sex is rape whenever it is not consensual. Consent can’t be given by a child. That is why defending Roman Polanski, who fled the country to avoid sentencing after conviction for statutory rape, is a sign of Hollywood corruption. A teacher is obligated to report statutory rape.
In 2006, it became obvious that Congressman Mark Foley was making sexual advances to Congressional Pages, GOP leaders left him alone. The cover up left Foley in charge of a committee safeguarding children. After it all exploded, Foley did not face charges in the District of Columbia. That is because the age of consent in DC is 16, the age of the boys he hit on. Conservative Christians at the time defended his “harmless pranks.” Angry conservatives published the names and addresses of the boys who had “tattled.” But Republicans were bounced from the Congressional majority.
In Jennings’ case, the accusations have turned out to be bogus. The boy was 16, the age of consent in Massachusetts. As with Foley, the adult was legally untouchable. It appears he was also unreachable, having been an anonymous one night stand. Jennings was concerned that the boy had not used a condom. The despondent boy told him his life was not worth saving. Jennings objected and they argued. The young fellow left a bit happier.
Conservative Christians, who believe they possess an exemption from the 9th Commandment, have falsely accused Jennings, changing the age from 16 to 15. They argue that the boy should have been outed. But I like to think the youngster’s life may have been affected in a more wholesome way.
He had encountered a teacher who actually thought he was worth saving.