I saw a news item this week where a female teacher, Alice Mc Brearty, had had a sexual relationship (that link about a female teacher is now dead, even though the one later in this article about a male teacher is still live) with a 15-year old male pupil. The judge – another female, Sheelagh Canavan – said:
…[she had committed the] grossest breach of trust…
I accept he was consenting – what 15-year-old schoolboy would turn down such an attractive offer?
I accept you truly believed this was a great romance, you were in love with him and vice versa, and that age didn’t matter. But it did.
McBrearty was jailed for 16 months.
Now, cast your mind back. Not very far – just a few years. A male teacher, Jeremy Forrest, ran away to France with a 15-year old female pupil. The link I’ve given here deals with some of the aftermath, specifically that the girl he ran away with still has feelings for him and is likely to enter a relationship with him when he comes out of prison. Although Forrest was accused of “grooming”, the girl has said:
If anything, I groomed him.
Forrest is in the middle of a five and a half year sentence for his crime, and will have to spend the rest of his life on the sex offenders’ register (no mention is made of that in McBrearty’s case).
I am not questioning the crime. Both committed them. Nor am I questioning the moral issues around consent.
What I am questioning is the “equality” on display. McBrearty should have been dealt with in accordance with the precedent set for Forrest and locked up for the same period. Or Forrest should be released, having already served more time than McBrearty will have to. And who decides whether judges like Canavan should be allowed to get away with overtly discriminatory and sexist comments about schoolboys.
Remind me again who gets discriminated against where it matters?
I just want to emphasise the earlier edits. Alice McBrearty (a female) seduced a male pupil and was jailed for 16 months. Her time in the newspapers has been deleted after less than 5 years. Jeremy Forrest was seduced by a female pupil, who is likely to enter a relationship with him when he gets out of jail, and was jailed for fine and a half years. His story is still completely live all over the internet.
Women get weaker sentences, and the more so when weak female ‘judges’ are involved. It is a corrupt system.