Shelley Dufresne, 32, and Rachel Respess, 24, are both former Destrehan High School English teachers who have been accused of having a threesome with a 16-year-old boy on Sept. 16, 2014. Both women were arrested and could face up to 17.5 years in prison due to their sexual interactions with a minor. The legal age of consent is 17 in Louisiana which would make the threesome that occurred between Dufresne, Respess and the boy rape, according to the Age of Consent by State website. In today’s society, there is a double standard for what is acceptable based on sex. Gender is a major determinant in whether or not an action we take is considered “right” or “wrong.” It can be the determining factor in how people react to happenings and even what details they think are important.
There has been a lot of buzz around this story that has strayed people away from the real issue. Based on various social media posts and news articles, it seems obvious that people are mainly focusing on the gender of the victim, how attractive the two teachers are, and that it was a three-way. All of these are distracting factors have taken away from the fact that two teachers were having sexual relations with a minor, which is illegal and simply wrong.
Regardless of gender, the case should exercise the same rulings and punishments. The only thing that seems to be the focus is how a high school boy got lucky with two attractive teachers. Even The New York Post labeled the two women as “pretty,” including the minutiae fact that they were both blonde, which is a nice compliment to the women, but a revolting way to talk about two rapists. Just because they are good looking doesn’t make it okay that they had a threesome with a 16 year-old. “It would have been cool to be that kid, and I’m sure that any other 16-year-old boy dreams about the opportunity to sleep with his teacher,” said University of Tampa senior finance major Luke McDonald. Raping a 16 year-old is unacceptable no matter how they individuals involved look or what gender they are. There is a legal age for a reason and since the boy was not at a legal age to consent to these acts, the two female teachers raped him.
The St. Charles Parish sheriff’s office confirmed that the boy told “other students that he was having a sexual relationship with teachers,” according to The New York Post. When the boy came back to school and bragged about his sexual encounter with the two teachers, I am sure all his friends thought this was more of an amazing act rather than the pedophilic event that it actually is.
The strong emphasis on how attractive the two teachers are has had a major pull for how popular this story has gotten. If the two teachers were not as attractive or if it wasn’t a male minor but a female having sex with two older men, this story would take a major turn. This story is intriguing to society due to the fact that a 16 year-old managed to simultaneously “hook-up” with two of his teachers. The fact that these women are attractive would make you think they could have sexual relations with someone a little closer to their own age.
Shelley Dufresne, 32, and Rachel Respess, 24, are both former Destrehan High School English teachers who have been accused of having a threesome with a 16-year-old boy on Sept. 16, 2014. Both women were arrested and could face up to 17.5 years in prison due to their sexual interactions with a minor. The legal age of consent is 17 in Louisiana which would make the threesome that occurred between Dufresne, Respess and the boy rape, according to the Age of Consent by State website. In today’s society, there is a double standard for what is acceptable based on sex. Gender is a major determinant in whether or not an action we take is considered “right” or “wrong.” It can be the determining factor in how people react to happenings and even what details they think are important.
There has been a lot of buzz around this story that has strayed people away from the real issue. Based on various social media posts and news articles, it seems obvious that people are mainly focusing on the gender of the victim, how attractive the two teachers are, and that it was a three-way. All of these are distracting factors have taken away from the fact that two teachers were having sexual relations with a minor, which is illegal and simply wrong.
Regardless of gender, the case should exercise the same rulings and punishments. The only thing that seems to be the focus is how a high school boy got lucky with two attractive teachers. Even The New York Post labeled the two women as “pretty,” including the minutiae fact that they were both blonde, which is a nice compliment to the women, but a revolting way to talk about two rapists. Just because they are good looking doesn’t make it okay that they had a threesome with a 16 year-old. “It would have been cool to be that kid, and I’m sure that any other 16-year-old boy dreams about the opportunity to sleep with his teacher,” said University of Tampa senior finance major Luke McDonald. Raping a 16 year-old is unacceptable no matter how they individuals involved look or what gender they are. There is a legal age for a reason and since the boy was not at a legal age to consent to these acts, the two female teachers raped him.
The St. Charles Parish sheriff’s office confirmed that the boy told “other students that he was having a sexual relationship with teachers,” according to The New York Post. When the boy came back to school and bragged about his sexual encounter with the two teachers, I am sure all his friends thought this was more of an amazing act rather than the pedophilic event that it actually is.
The strong emphasis on how attractive the two teachers are has had a major pull for how popular this story has gotten. If the two teachers were not as attractive or if it wasn’t a male minor but a female having sex with two older men, this story would take a major turn. This story is intriguing to society due to the fact that a 16 year-old managed to simultaneously “hook-up” with two of his teachers. The fact that these women are attractive would make you think they could have sexual relations with someone a little closer to their own age.
The bottom line is that any student-teacher relationship where the student is a minor should be seen for what it is — rape. “Those teachers should be fired. It is an endangerment to the student as well as the reputation of the school system,” said UT alumnus William Sandoval. Whether a female or male student is involved, both incidents should be unacceptable and viewed as despicable not only by the public school systems, but also the public.
Student teacher relations aren’t necessarily a rare thing, but many do not get the same publicity as this case has. The comment about their appearance and age are not relevant to the actual acts that occurred and shouldn’t be a factor in the story. This is also true of the gender of the involved. Male or female, the reaction should be the same, as well as the punishment. Attractiveness is not an excuse to allow pedophiles to sleep with children.
Katie Drake can be reached at katie.drake@spartans.ut.edu