Child’s letter to Santa uncovers pedophile

In Pharr, Texas, many elementary children participated in an annual custom and gave their teachers letters to be mailed to Santa Claus.  As usual, many want the latest toys, clothes, and perhaps something very dear to them.  For one 9-year-old girl, she just wanted a relative to stop touching her and her sister.

The girl’s teacher gave the letter to the school counselor who alerted authorities.  Police interviewed the girl and the man was arrested last Friday and is currently in the Hidalgo County Jail.  Reportedly, the abuse occurred over a period of four years.

With a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a young child, the relative could face up to 99 years in prison if convicted.

Yes, dear….there is a Santa Claus.  Your letter was read and Santa answered it.  With time and help from responsible, caring adults, hopefully all the rest of your Christmases will be bright.  And with any luck, your abuser will get what he deserves — and it won’t be just coal in his stocking.

Crystal Gunns resigns from school post over scandal

Louisa C. Tuck, also known as former porn star Crystal Gunns, has decided to hang up her cafeteria apron and leave the New Jersey school district where she had worked since June 2008.  In a one-sentence resignation, she stated she was “resigning in good standing” effective December 8.

Vineland Public Schools Superintendent Charles D. Ottinger stated that the school district did not wish for nor requested the resignation from Ms. Tuck.  The resignation letter did not give any hints as to whether or not the recent publicity had played any part in her decision.  Vineland YMCA Executive Director and CEO George Steinbronn stated that Ms. Tuck is still employed as a supervisor for children’s programs.

Ms. Tuck’s resignation, however, has not been approved by the school board and she can rescind it at any time before the next meeting, scheduled for January 21.  Ottinger stated that the board would most likey allow her to keep her job if she changes her mind because they did not request the resignation.

So, once again the parents who feel they must shelter their little darlings from the non-existent evils of the world (see my previous blog) have caused someone who has done nothing wrong to leave.  Ms. Tuck has not received poor reviews, nor has her previous career caused a problem except in the eyes of these over-protective, knee-jerk parents.  I personally hope that Ms. Tuck reconsiders her decision, but I can also completely agree if she doesn’t.  It is hard to live and work in an area where the moral majority dictates who is and who isn’t acceptable in society.

String him up! Babysitter uses child in porn film.

This is almost too disgusting for words!!  A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to using a child in a porn film after answering an online ad for babysitting services.

Aaron J. Lemon admitted this past Wednesday to producing the video.  Police state that this scumbag used Craigslist to answer a legitimate ad requesting a babysitter and coerced a 2-year-old girl into explicit acts.  He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.

That’s all??  A predator like this faces only up to 30 years??

This is part of what really, really disgusts me about people.  This man explicity used an online resource to seek out a victim who couldn’t possibly begin to give any type of consent, much less the fact that it’s completely illegal!  Not to mention absolutely disgusting.  Many predators try to excuse their actions because they say the victim “told them it was okay” and understood what was happening or they “wanted it to happen.”  But to seek out a 2-year-old???

String him up!  And you can guess which part I’d like the rope around….  Our children need to be protected from perverts like this.  Many, many thanks go out to the police and U.S. Attorney’s office who stated that Lemon was caught through a project that encourages agencies to investigate sexual exploitation of children over the Internet.

This is a time where my usual rant of parental responsibility and ensuring your children are safe isn’t warranted.  The parents hired a babysitter on the premise that he was going to actually do his job, not molest their child.  Maybe they could have requested more references and/or background checks.  And maybe they did and this guy passed them all.  The bottom line is he sought-out his victim.  He is the one who filmed it.  And he is the one responsible for all of this.  We need more people making sure these sickos don’t harm any more kids.

Update & Opinion – School drops Crystal Gunns case

You’ve probably already read my blog entry about Louisa C. Tuck (aka Crystal Gunns) and the school district that had planned to fire her.  If you haven’t read it, go back there and get caught up on the story!!

Now the district has decided to drop the case.  The question of the day is this – who ratted her out?

Charles D. Ottinger, Superintendent of Schools at Vineland School District, states:

Neither the Vineland Board of Education nor the Vineland Public School District initiated the investigation into Louisa Tuck.  We started our investigation after a reporter for The Daily Journal contacted our board president.

In an article by AdultFYI.com, the statement by Mr. Ottinger includes concerns for the students and their families but does not denigrate Ms. Tuck for her previous employment.  He also states that he understands how many students are exposed to various items of questionable nature on a daily basis.

It is admirable how Mr. Ottinger believes the school district should help be the “moral compass” for the students.  But, this is obviously a man with his head on straight and a firm grip on reality.  He believes that if the employees conduct themselves in a professional and forthright manner at all times there shouldn’t be a problem.  Isn’t that the way it should be?

Mr. Ottinger said that only upon hearing the allegations did the school district seek legal counsel for input.  After being advised that nothing could or should be done, the district ended it’s investigation.  And that’s as it should be.  To drag something on just because other people have their feathers in a ruff is not good business and not good for the students.  If the parents and town busybodies can’t let it go, then it’s their fault when the kids have problems with it.

I do take issue with part of Mr. Ottinger’s statement, however.  He says:

I certainly understand that people make mistakes, and when given the opportunity many people learn from their mistakes and actually become better people for having gone through that type of experience.  While we want to teach our students about forgiveness, we also want them to understand that certain behavior is still considered by many to be unacceptable.  Notwithstanding that point, it has been made clear to me that most of our parents do not want their children involved in any type of negative behavior they feel might have a detrimental impact on their children’s futures.  So there really is a fine line between forgiveness and accountability, and both are important life lessons.

Make mistakes?  Who said she made a mistake?  And who is he to judge whether her previous life choices were wrong or not?

I can agree with keeping kids from “unacceptable behavior,” but let’s remember that there are many teachers and other school employees across this country who are either alleged to have had or convicted of illicit activities with their students!  Shouldn’t we be more concerned about keeping the children away from them?  Those are the people that can actually hurt them, not some static photo or video on a website an elementary child shouldn’t be viewing anyway.  That’s the parents’ responsibility to keep the kids away from porn!  It’s only the school’s responsibility during school hours.

And for the parents who “do not want their children involved in any type of negative behavior” — get a life!  If you’re going to shelter your children so much that they never, ever hear a foul word or see a questionable photo, then don’t expect the rest of society to pick up after your mess when your kids can’t deal with the real world.

There are reports all over the news about “helicopter parents” who just can’t let go and expect “Billy” and “Susie” to get top grades, the best teachers, and no responsibilities just because they whine about it (the parents, that is, not the kids).  These are the types of parents that have children who can’t function the first time someone reprimands them at their first job when they do something outrageously unsafe.  These are the parents who have children who can’t pass a class in college and the instructors are sick to death of hearing their students ask if mom or dad can call to negotiate a higher grade.

A little self-responsibility is what people need.  And if you have children too young to be responsible for themselves, remember that they are your children.  They don’t belong to the school district, church, civic group, or any other agency you want to pawn off your responsibilities to raise your kids.

“Forgiveness and accountability are both important life lessons,” to paraphrase Mr. Ottinger.  Let’s all be more forgiving after we’ve taken responsibility for our own families and lives.

Former porn star employed by school. Does it really matter?

When is your past no longer private?  Well, if you’re a convicted felon, a sex offender, someone applying for a governmental position, planning to join the military, or want to work with kids you really should expect someone to poke around in your history.  Background checks are done for very valid reasons –  particularly when we’re entrusting our children to the care of adults.  I’m pretty sure we’ll all agree that no one wants a convicted pedophile or child abuser working in our schools and daycare centers.

But what if you haven’t done anything illegal?  What if you’re a mature adult (or maybe not so mature but over legal age) who chose a career path that isn’t in lockstep with the moral majority?  Should you be punished?

The newest brouhaha is over Louisa C. Tuck who works at a school and YMCA center in Vineland, NJ.  She helps in the cafeteria and on the playground at the school.  Many parents of children who have attended functions through the YMCA describe her as “an excellent role model.”  So why is everyone upset with Ms. Tuck?  It seems that she is also known as Crystal Gunns and is a former porn star.

There are tons of articles and blogs being written as we speak on the subject.  The question, however, is this:  Does it really matter?

The school district in which Ms. Tuck is employed has been advised to not take action against her employment status.  The superintendent states there are no legal grounds with which to terminate her current employment based solely on her previous employment.  It’s been five years since Ms. Tuck was active in the porn community and I’ve not been able to find any records showing where anything she did while a part of it was illegal.

I’ve worked part-time as a substitute teacher and had to undergo a thorough background check even though I wasn’t going to be with the kids every day for nine months.  Surely a cafeteria employee and playground attendant would have to do the same.  And if not, then doesn’t that mean they don’t have prolonged direct contact with the students?  Isn’t that enough?

And, sure, someone will say that she has an active website and the kids could find her videos and photos.  Really?  Someone under 18 finding pornography on the Internet?  Yes, it can happen — but then that’s the fault of the parents who refuse to police their children (under 18).  You would think most responsible parents would have installed protective filters on every computer their little ones come within 10 miles of after all the Dateline: To Catch a Predator episodes out there.  Ms. Tuck isn’t a predator but her website and videos would certainly be blocked by the filters.

Just because she worked in the adult industry in the past most certainly doesn’t mean that she’s a bad person.  It doesn’t mean that she cannot work with children or be a positive role model.  Parents tolerate their children idolizing celebrities and sports stars who have questionable morals and public activities.  They buy them the latest clothes and accessories with their photo or jersey number on them and say, “Kids will be kids.”  Anyone remember when Charles Barkley did the “I am not a role model” commercial for Nike?

Instead of focusing on a former porn star working at a school, how about focusing on the actual teachers who have been convicted in pornography cases?  Earlier this month a former middle-school teacher in Bedford County, VA, was sentenced to 56 years in prison for felony child pornography.  He was caught after exchanging explicit texts with an investigator posing as a minor.  (Everyone says they watch To Catch a Predatorbut every day more idiots get caught that way!)  In Boyertown, PA this past May, a teacher was convicted of having pornographic videos of children performing sex acts.  In 2007, a substitute teacher in Windham, CT, was convicted for exposing students to pornographic images she claims were displayed on the computer by undetected spyware.

We have all heard about the teachers, both male and female, who have had sex with their underage students.  There are even cases of teachers and administrators having sexual relations at the school after hours and being caught on tape.  Aren’t these much worse than the former career of a current employee who doesn’t seem to have violated any policies?  Don’t they speak to their morals as well?

Today’s headlines and blog feeds are crammed with information about Ms. Tuck.  Farther back from the fray is the report filed today that a Louisville, KY, teacher has been indicted on Federal child porn charges.  If we’re so sensationist that we’re more interested in something someone did in the past, it’s no wonder we sit blindly by while people really exploit children and then ask how it could have happened.  Let’s protect our kids.  But let’s be intelligent and protect them from people and actions that will actually hurt them.