babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
Teacher Got Too Close to Student
I’m all for sex education at school, but high school teacher Marla Gurecki-Haskins reportedly took sex ed too far. The 37-year-old teacher is accused of engaging in sexual activity with a male student in a classroom during school hours and propositioning two other students, according to CBS News.
Gurecki-Haskins also sent sexually explicit text messages and e-mails to two 16-year-old male students, according to court papers.
“She put every child in that school in danger,” said Rosaline Kline, a former substitute aide at Canandaigua Academy. “Maybe they should leave all the doors open so teachers can’t be alone with children.”
Last month, the school placed Gurecki-Haskins on administrative leave after they were notified of a potential sexual relationship between the teacher and a male student. The school also notified police of the allegations.
Gurecki-Haskins, who has taught special education at Canandaigua Academy, a small school in Western New York since 1995, turned herself in on Monday.
The teacher pleaded not guilty to a felony count of disseminating indecent material to a minor and three misdemeanor counts of official misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child. But officials say more charges could be filed.
This is far from the first time that a teacher has been accused of sexual misconduct with a student. Does the name Mary Kay Letourneau ring a bell?
An AP study in 2007 found that sexual misconduct runs rampant at schools around the country. Between 2001 and 2005, 2,570 educators had their teaching credentials revoked, denied, surrendered or sanctioned following allegations of sexual misconduct.
A 2004 Congress-mandated report estimated that as many as 4.5 million students, out of roughly 50 million in American schools, are subject to sexual misconduct by a school employee.
How should schools prevent this sort of thing from happening?
Photo: CBS/WROC
Related Posts :
Go Back To Strollerderby
0 Comments
nic @mybottlesup commented on May 25 10 at 11:33 amWOW!!! as a former middle school teacher, i’m sad to say that i’m not surprised. a teacher from a school i once taught at was fired for similar allegations. unfortunately, that teacher was hired the following august by another school that was never made aware of her past. deplorable.
DMS commented on May 25 10 at 12:26 pmIf true, She will be charged with Criminal Sexual Act in the 3d degree, an E felony, defined as being over the age of 21 and engaging in oral sexual conduct with someone less than 17 years of age. She will likely be charged with other crimes as well. While I do not condone such conduct, I also can’t condemn it too strongly. The young men in this situation were 16 years old. Remember that 16 years old is the age of consent in probably more than half the world. New York’s 17 year old age of consent is an arbitrary number and in the minority. Thirty states and the District of Columbia have an age of consent of 16 years old and hence this conduct would not be criminal. If this had happened in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, it would not have been criminal.
I think it is an error to consider this conduct criminal because of the ages of those involved. the issue is not the ages, the issue is the power structure. Just like in a business setting, it is inappropriate to engage in a sexual relationship with a subordinate. That to me is the issue.
I understand the point you are making, but a better case to demonstrate it would be with someone well below the most accepted age of consent, 16.
DSM commented on May 25 10 at 10:59 pmWhy don’t they just require video camera’s in every room and have a security staff that watches them? Also have a scan card system for a teacher to enter any classroom that way they can account for each teacher and any possible wrong doing.
Ri-chan commented on May 26 10 at 8:52 amI think the more disturbing aspect is the power she held over them, not the age difference.
Atrost commented on May 26 10 at 6:08 pmWere the minors involved in special education? The article states that Gurecki-Haskins taught special education, but it doesn’t state weather the minors involved were in the special class(es).
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Lori Garcia 
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
0