Jeremiah Jones said "this is not child abuse. It's abuse of authority and statutory rape."

Just to make sure the facts are out there...he was accused of being flirtatious, making sexual comments, and sending text messages.

He is not being accused of having a sexual relationship with her. His resignation does indicate, IMHO, that something was not right.

IF convicted he should be held accountable, IF acquitted he will still be presumed guilty by some and his reputation will be ruined forever.

Oh shut up. Male, female, young, old, gay, straight, whatever. It doesn't matter. I don't know whether this guy is innocent or guilty. None of us do except God Almighty (GASP!!! SHOCK!!!! I spoke of God! I must be narrow & a bigot), the teacher and the kid. The one fact is: he resigned. And there has to be a reason for it. I mean, you don't just resign for the fun of it. But regardless, this crap does go on and it is getting more and more common. I am seeing more and more articles on this stuff. And it's sick. IF this man is guilty, then justice needs to be served. If not, then ok. Fine. The world will keep on spinning. Unfortunately an innocent person's name is smeared. And I'm saying IF, people. IF he's innocent, IF he's guilty. IF IF IF IF IF. Clear? Ok. Let's move on. I get sooo sick and tired of hearing about our "narrow" and "small minded" area around here. Agreed, there's enough red neckness (yeah I just made that term up....catchy, huh?) around here to last a gabillion lifetimes. But not everyone here is some brain dead hick that can't think for themselves. If you are disgusted with Kingsport or NETN or the south or the USA then, um, by all means, be our guest to move out. I hear Iran is pretty open-minded (some women just got stoned there last week because they were against rape in marriage....how progressive and 21st Century!!!!). Sigh. Let's let the courts decide who's guilty or innocent. And let's leave the judgment of our souls, and who should go to hell or not, to the Lord. If ANY of us got what we deserved, we'd be there right now. I'm just sayin'.

I would still think it is terrible if it were a female teacher. Yes, a 16 year old does not what she is doing. However, the point here is that the adult should have self-control. I am not judging. I am saying that if it happened (yes, everyone is innocent until proven guilty) he should have acted like a mature man, not a hormone driven teenager.

thr dognite, i don't know the answer to that specific question. i do know it is covered in the teacher education programs - there is actually a resource called "teach but don't touch". yeah - i know. it's kinda sad - educators are instructed not to even hug children in this day and age. if you must meet with a child for a private discussion - you should leave the door open and sit where anyone walking by can see you, etc. people training to be teachers are definitely educated about this issue and how to avoid accusations - real or false. as a former school employee, and future teacher - these stories disgust me. it puts teachers in a bad light - and most teachers would never do this. it also casts suspicion on male teachers, especially those who teach young children. that's a shame because a lot of kids need male role models, and there are a lot of good male teachers out there who are teaching for the right reasons. in reality, i think if you were to compare the number of teacher related cases to any other profession - the numbers would be low. that doesn't excuse the few who cross the boundaries, but these cases are so highly publicized that it puts us all under the microscope - i hate that.

If the allegations are true, it is a very serious crime. But let's make sure we use the right terms. A 16 year old is not a child, so this is not child abuse. It's abuse of authority and statutory rape.

Both of which are bad and require punishment, but are not as bad as sexual abuse of a child, which should result in the death penalty.

I think at 16 you know what your doing. Lets not fool ourselves. This is not 1940 anymore, young people do not stay virgins until their blessed wedding day. This person is HARDLY a victim.

You know, until we as a society stand up and demand harsh punishment for child molesters and abusers we are going to keep reading stories such as this, he may not even be guilty, but, many are and know they will get a light sentence. It's time we take our senator and congressmen to the test and demand laws that put a stop to these crimes.

While not approving this by any means, I do find it distasteful that people are so quick to judge. We have no idea whether this man is even guilty or not and you are already hanging him. I agree with the previous post, if this was a 35 year old female, the entire population would have a different view, but its a man so he is going to burn in hell for it! Talk about small minded, oh yea, I forgot, I am in Kingsport!!!!!!!!!!

You people are too quick to judge. In this country you are innocent until proven guilty. Don't comment on someone until you know all the facts.

Has the NEA ever publicly spoken out against teacher/child sexual contact...especially female teacher/child?

Ah, he's a sicko now and should be hung from the tallest tree. but if this was a hot 35 year old female teacher we'd all be wondering where she was when we were in high school.

This is happening all over the country. Go to www.schoolteachernews.com and click on the Scandal page. This year they have documented over 165 of these types of incidents. In 2008 they found 478 of these kinds of cases.

I agree, Chester. I bet there weren't very many children or opportunities at Nuclear Fuel Services in Erwin. We all know now why he jumped at the chance to teach and work with children and leave engineering.