Before we dive into the story of 28-year-old teacher Brittni Colleps and the five students she's accused of having sex with, a disclaimer is in order. Any time a teacher takes advantage of a student, she (or he) deserves to be punished. It's an unconscionable betrayal of trust. And yet, there's a lot wrong with the way Colleps is being treated right now.
The former English teacher (yes, she lost her job over the allegations) at a Texas high school allegedly had sex with five different students in her home over the course of two months. All the kids were over 18. But now Colleps could spend 20 years in prison.
Twenty years? I get that what Colleps is accused of is wrong. If she's convicted, she most certainly should be punished. But the fact that these "kids" were all adult males can't be ignored. The threat of 20 years in prison brings a whiff of malicious prosecution to this whole case.
Let's put this in perspective, shall we?
Mary Kay Letourneau had numerous sexual encounters with her 13-year-old student, eventually bearing two of his children. She spent less than eight years in the slammer.
In June of this year, a man named Josh Boyd was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Earlier this year Boyd pleaded guilty to felony murder.
In 2011, a man named Terrence Sundsmo was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in prison. He'd been convicted of possessing more than 4,600 graphic images of child porn, including sadomasochistic imagery.
I'm not saying Brittni Colleps should get off. If she did the crime, she should do some time. But 20 years seems excessive. Here's hoping a judge errs on the side of sense (she could get as little as two).
What do you think would be an appropriate sentence here?
Image via cdsessums/Flickr
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Comments 52
Someone said in a previous post "you do the crime, you do the time" ...... Can someone PLEASE tell me what the crime even is???? There is NO way this teacher is going to spend one minute in jail, unless, of course, there's more to the story than is implied here. She definitely broke school rules, so she should absolutely be fired, but getting arrested, that's stretching it, even for TX!!!
my children's father was 26 and i was 16 when we got together.. it was completely legal for him.. at least these kids are legal consenting adults! At the most, she should face house arrest or probation!
She was a teacher so that changes everything for me 4-mutts. That's just my opinion, but she must have broken a state law if she's in court. I think we should make an example of ALL teachers that break laws like this. This is happening way to much lately and I think we need to draw the line somewhere. When you take certain jobs we expect more from you. Also she slept with five different students so this lady has some kind of problem. I think no matter what she should lose her license but if she broke a law she should serve time. Sleeping with a co-worker and sleeping with a mentor are totally different things in my eyes.
Closing arguments are set for Friday in Colleps' trial. She's charged with five counts of having an inappropriate relationship between a student and teacher. The second-degree felony is punishable by two to 20 years in prison per count.
That was an excerpt from the link on the blogger provided on this story. Maybe you guys think its harsh but it sounds like she broke the law so she should have to serve the time.
I also read the link provided and yes it is against the law in Texas for teachers to have any kind of inappropriate relationship with students regardless of age. To be honest, I'm shocked by two facts...that she slept with five guys in two months (hope they were ALL wearing condoms!) and the fact that she is married and her husband is standing behind her. I seriously doubt that she'll get 20 years for each count, most likely just 2 years for each for a total of 10, if she gets anything.
They were all legal adults, so I don't see where a crime was commited.
That being said, what she did was completely inappropriate and unprofessional and she absolutely deserved to lose her job.
And why is this filed under 'child abuse' and 'crime'? I fail to see where this incident qualifies as either.
that's crazy! not only the sentance but what was a 28 year old teaching in high school?! she was almost at pair iwth her students!
Am I supposed to feel sorry for her? What she did was against the law. She knew better, and she chose not to do the right thing.
And I have one problem with your argument. You use examples of times when far worse crimes garnered lighter sentences doesn't mean that this teacher should get off easier. It means that punishments for worse crimes must be harsher than what they are.
She doesn't deserve to be punished at all, considering what she did is techinically legal. Sure, it's morally frowned upon, but obviously not everyone has the same morals. Unless, if it said in her contract that relations are prohibited, then she should lose her job, which she did. Other than this, I don't see grounds for legal action.