A child named Megan Summers has apparently run away with her teacher. The couple were caught on CCTV and have been in France, though now captured and Megan, at least, has been returned to the UK.
That this was a truly newsworthy story is debatable. Many young girls 'take up with' older men and few are pursued with the determination that this couple were deemed worthy of. The 'child' is aged 15 and I dread to think what proportion of 15 year olds are sexually active with the tacit approval of their parents, guardians and others, notwithstanding that engaging in sexual intercourse below the age of 16 remains a criminal offence.
There was a discussion on BBC television this morning in which various participants discussed the rights and wrongs of naming people, particularly teachers, who have been accused of wrongdoings, specifically when it involves young people. There appeared to be a view that teachers should be accorded some special status as they were very open to false accusations which could ruin their careers and even their lives. The suggestion also seemed to be that the teacher who'd run away with Megan Stammers was being unfairly treated, being publicly named and shamed in the press and other media.
Without being drawn on the main subject here, it seems that this man has effectively been his own worst enemy. He is a person who had responsibility for the child and he used that responsibility inappropriately. No one has yet mentioned the unmentionable fact that sexual intercourse with a minor is illegal and deemed to be 'Statutory Rape' under the UK's criminal law and yet the assumption must surely be that this couple have been involved in such activity; why else would they have run away so far ?
Of course, the escapade may be entirely innocent though the chances that this is the case appear slim. There is no doubt that the teacher did accompany the girl to France without the knowledge or agreement of her family and that constitutes a prima facie offence of child abduction; as such the guy is guilty as hell and naming him makes no difference. It's not as though it's one person's word against another's.
The much bigger issues here are those that involve the behaviour of youngsters, particularly those who seem to believe that they are much more 'grown up' than they really are. Girls of 14 and 15 have been indoctrinated to believe that virginity is something to be despised and they willingly give in to the boys who can't wait to 'shag' every girl in town. Few of these so-called relationships produce anything lasting except those which produce a child, usually left to be dealt with by the girl and her parents.
This Stammers child running away with her teacher is a consequence of the modern society which has created such opportunities. The girl is an idiot and the teacher should be in prison, but they are far from being the only such couple. Our society is a mess and will remain so until someone shows the balls to buck the trend and sort it out.
The main issue as I understand in this case is that it's now illegal for a teacher to have a sexual relationship with a school pupil under 18, irrespective of whether he/she gives consent, and it's this so-called "abuse of trust" which was already under investigation at the time they ran away together.
ReplyDeleteI can't altogether work out quite why this rated such a high-profile manhunt: it was obvious from the outset what had happened and why, and the police knew fairly early on where they'd gone, if not exactly where they were.
The UK media coverage has been way over-the-top, leaving most Continental commentators thinking it's some sort of British obsession. While I can see the logic of publishing the photos and names to assist the search, in the early stages at least some French papers refused to do so on privacy grounds.
UK law normally prevents the naming of juveniles (even victims and witnesses) in Court cases, but in this instance both the girl's name and that of her school are already in the public domain. Given the extent of intrusive and speculative press coverage - which is still going on - I can see a situation arising where it's going to be argued that it's impossible for Mr Forrest to get a fair trial (assuming he is brought back to the UK and eventually charged, that is).