MA- State Rep. Todd Smola of Palmer files bill that would make it a felony for a school employee to have sex with a student 17 or older

Here is an odd title which almost implies it is OK to have sex with those under 17. Bet the journalist wishes he wrote this one differently.

(Posted by eAdvocate) 4-6-2009 Masachusetts:

PALMER - At the request of the town's school superintendent, state Rep. Todd M. Smola, R-Palmer, has filed legislation that would make it a felony for a school employee to have sex with a student who is 17 or older.

Superintendent Gerald A. Fournier sought the legislation in the wake of suspicions about a former school employee last year, according to Smola. The male employee resigned last fall after an investigation into whether he had inappropriate interactions with several female high school students.

"The law would make it a felony if a student and a staff member had a relationship, even if she is of consensual age," Smola said.

Current state law prohibits sex with a person under 16, a charge known as statutory rape. It carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Smola's legislation was filed at a time when school and police officials were questioning the relationship of a Holyoke teacher and student. However, that case would not fall under the provisions of the proposed law.

Holyoke school teacher Lisa M. Lavoie, 24, of Ludlow, and a 15-year-old student were reported missing in February. The two were discovered on Feb. 23 at a motel in Morgantown, W.Va. The boy has been placed in a foster family, and Lavoie awaits prosecution on a charge of enticing a minor. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of five years in state prison.

(Posted by eAdvocate)

The case would not fall under the proposed law because Lavoie has not been charged with having sex with the student, and the child in question is a minor and not of consenting age. If Lavoie should be charged with statutory rape, a prospect raised by the prosecutor during her arraignment, the case would be covered under existing law because the student is younger than 17.

Smola's proposal calls for a maximum penalty of 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000 for a school employee who has sex with a student aged 17 or older. Smola said he researched the laws in several states, and a bill was drafted by the House of Representatives legal counsel.

Smola expects some resistance to the proposal because it would cover consensual relationships between any school employee and a student.

"Obviously, there is some concern raised with legislation like this," he said. "(The Palmer superintendent) asked me to file it, and I agreed to do it. We're talking now about a consensual relationship between of-age adults. It's a sticky wicket."

Fournier believes the proposed law would be a deterrent and would allow law enforcement officials to take steps regardless of the age of the students.

"Evidence in Connecticut shows that the frequency of inappropriate relations have decreased," Fournier said. "I don't see why Massachusetts can't have a similar law."

Palmer schools have a policy, adopted in 2006, barring "student-staff personal relationships which exceed the scope of normal professional student-staff relationships." Violating the policy can result in disciplinary action up to termination, according to the policy.

Fournier's request for the legislation came after a Palmer High School employee resigned in the fall during an investigation into his relationships with several female students. A report from the Police Department, obtained by The Republican through a public records request, indicated that two parents contacted police in October with concerns about their daughters' relationships with the man.

A report by officer Theodore N. Bonnayer II said that neither student would cooperate with police. He said he obtained one girl's cell phone in an effort to see if there were messages from the employee, but a forensic investigator determined that all messages had been erased. The investigator declined to seize the employee's computer, saying it had been "compromised" by a previous search by school officials.

Because the girls were 17, and because there was no allegation of force, any sexual interaction would not be a crime, said Bonnayer in the report. ..News Source.. by The Republican Newsroom