(CNN) -- A judge in Tampa, Florida, on Monday sentenced Stephanie Ragusa, a former middle school math teacher, to 10 years in prison for having sex with two underage students in 2008.
"As parents, we place our trust in teachers to provide a safe environment in which our children can learn," Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Chet Tharpe said in handing down the sentence. "You violated that trust in the worst imaginable way."
Tharpe also sentenced Ragusa to 15 years of sex offender probation following her prison time.
Ragusa, 31, pleaded guilty in April to three counts of lewd and lascivious battery in a March 2008 case involving a 14-year-old boy, and two counts of having unlawful sex with a minor in an April 2008 case involving a 16-year-old student.
Just because someone does things they're not supposed to because they are sick, or they are just screwed up does not excuse them from either punishment nor fault. We are all responsible for our actions, and all actions have consequence. Even though the child MAY have some minor fault (as in knowing it is wrong, saying no and telling someone about it) - Mostly the fault of the teacher, though, as they are in a position of trust, authority and responsibility. That teacher is no different, to my POV, as a pedophile. They abuse their position, and in so doing, not only damage a child, but put a stain on others of the profession.
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely ridiculous that these men and women are hired to teach our children and in turn they become victims of a passion. Every time I hear that another teacher has been convicted for sexual conducts with a minor I am taken back because I wonder what in the world is going through their minds that they would put their career on the line like this. I know that these teachers had to go through alot before they could find themselves in the classroom, which makes it even more troublesome that they would risk it all. At the same time I also blame the children who are old enough to understand that their actions are no acceptable. This is not to say that I in any way support the teachers behaviors but at some point we need to teach our children that their actions aren't any better. Now if the child is not of an age in understanding right from wrong that's a different concern but for those who are able to tell the difference accountability must be given. For all the teachers who have taken a child's innocence all I can say is, shame, shame and shame.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is absolutely ridiculous. These people should be ashamed of themselves.
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