Jaw-dropper: Teacher claims young student wasn’t ‘damaged’ when her....
ROSE CITY, Mich. – When Rose City middle school teacher Neal Erickson pleaded guilty to molesting one of his students a while back, most observers expected an open-and-shut case with the school community rallying around the teenage victim.
Neil EricksonAnd in some ways it was. Erickson was sentenced to 15-30 years in prison for carrying on a sexual relationship with a boy in his young teens between 2006 and 2009. That should have been the end of the horrific tale.
But seven teachers kept the controversy alive by rallying behind the rapist, going so far as to write letters to the sentencing judge, seeking leniency on his behalf. The letters were posted on a local blog, WBRC Teachers.
Perhaps the most disgusting letter was written by Erickson’s wife, Toni Erickson, a 15-year educator currently teaching at Ogemaw Heights High School. While her pleas on behalf of her husband may not be surprising, her suggestion that the victim was unaffected by the abuse is more than a little disturbing, particularly coming from a teacher.
“As for punishment, because I know that is something the community expects, hasn’t he been punished enough? He is losing a job he has held for 17 years and losing all future career potential as a teacher. …
“I have seen many delightful students who have been damaged by horrible events in their lives. While I acknowledge that Neal’s conduct with [the victim] was wrong, I do not believe he was damaged by Neal’s actions and I base my opinion on my personal interaction with [the victim], both before and after Neal’s actions. However [my daughter] very likely could be. Please don’t punish her by his absence in her life.”
So the real victim in the case is the rapist’s daughter, not the young student who was assaulted? This lady needs her head examined, and perhaps her teaching license permanently revoked.
There were other troublesome letters, as well.
Rose City Middle School English teacher Sally Campbell wrote to the court, “Please take into consideration his pleading guilty so as not to put this student through any more than what has already occurred.”
How charitable of the rapist to not force his victim to testify. Perhaps he deserves the keys to the city for that one.
“Although Neal has pleaded guilty to a single charge of criminal sexual conduct, evidence of this being a one-time incident reaffirms the fact that he is not a sexual predator,” wrote 4th grade teacher Marilyn Glover.
The abuse occurred over a 3-year period, according to various news reports. Without getting into the physics of it all, it’s highly unlikely it was a “one-time incident.”
Posted on August 15, 2013
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