The story of Haley Reed: Teen predator or lover?
There’s some true crime stories that you just can’t wrap your head around no matter how hard you try. Stories like the Wests, who killed several people in their home, including their own daughter. Or of course, the Tiger King himself Joe Exotic.
But then there’s stories like Haley Reed, a choir director on trial for allegedly raping and sodomizing a student on school property. The 17-year-old and Reed had sex at least eight times during the time of their relationship. Even though the age of the student nullifies this argument in court, was it consensual?
Reed’s lawyer wants to change the rules in the court of the law, because while Reed did engage in sex with a student, it was consensual. Plus, in Kentucky where the incident occurred, the age of consent is 16. But we fail to remember that Reed was in a position of power at the time of the relationship.
Is sex with a student ever justifiable?
That’s the question Reed’s lawyer is trying to answer with her case. While the age of consent in Kentucky is 16, there’s another law coming into play. Anyone having sex with a minor, consensual or not, while in a position of power is automatically charged with rape in the third degree.
It’s one thing when it’s a case like Mary Kay Letourneau was dating a student way underage. But Reed’s student was 17, and it was just a hookup, no romance involved. What it comes down to is the difference in power. If Reed was just a teacher that the student hooked up with, that means nothing. But Reed was their teacher.
Definitely not worth 100 years
Of course, with these old fashion crimes come old fashion punishments. Right now, because she’s facing multiple counts of rape in the third degree, sodomy in the third degree, and unlawful transaction with a minor in the first degree. All those charges combined have Reed facing over a century in jail.
To put that in perspective, a man arrested for making child pornography is able to serve 30 years max for his crimes. Whether or not you feel Reed belongs in jail, you have to acknowledge how ridiculous that punishment is.
Unconstitutional laws
When Reed’s trial begins this summer, it will decide whether or not the laws that got Reed in jail in the first place were unconstitutional or not. With two contradictory laws putting the judge in between a rock and a hard place, we’ll be interested to see if any reform comes from this case.
Reed should still serve some time for sleeping with a student while in her position, but she’s being overcharged when it sounds like this was a consensual relationship between two people completely able to consent. Unless the victim was not consenting to the relationship, the punishment doesn’t match the crimes.
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Maria
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Once again double-standards is coming into play. If it had been a Male teacher with a seventeen year old female student the tone of this article would’ve been very different wouldn’t it? In fact, it wouldn’t even be an article nor would the sentence have been called into question.
October 21, 2020Aubrey
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yeah this is gross. I went to school and was a junior when she was arrested. she’s a pedo.
November 1, 2020N0zu
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Definitely not, and it should be noted that this is a double standard of the double standards, because under such extreme black and white American morality, having sex with a 17 year old is wrong but with an 18 or 19 year old it is suddenly okay even if he/she has delayed puberty
It’s worth noting that before someone say anything adolescents/teenagers are still considered children by children’s charities regardless of age or legal status, including 18 and 19 year olds, it’s a major discrepancy, although that age bracket remains a vulnerable population (they are actually more vulnerable than 14-17 year olds precisely because of their legal adult status and the assumptions that come with it, apart from no longer being covered by the UNCRC despite the above) true sexual predators can take advantage of this to prey on 18 and 19 year olds in child charity settings and the like, claiming they are “adults” which is a supposed “relationship of equals” (an 18/19 year old teen is not the same as a 30-year-old adult, their peers are other teenagers including 15-17 year olds, not 21-25 or 25-30 year olds) that “their parents don’t have to support them anymore and they can go live with whoever they want” when In reality, these are predatory relationships, aggravated because they also take advantage of a very evident social and legal vulnerability. Much is said about predators, but at the same time they are also very underestimated.
I am not saying that they can’t consent, but they are not equals, especially in the context of being in care or volunteering in a UNICEF building and that another much older person than then is taking advantage of their position of authority to commit real, aggravated sexual abuse. because that predator can use excuses that he could not use with an underage teen in order to make time and make his grooming and abuse more effective and ruthless.
Relationships between teachers and adolescent students have always existed, and quite possibly they are much more common than we believe, these relationships are often kept secret due to the potential legal and/or social retaliation they may have, they can be healthy and happy couples like any other, but the emotional stability of these couples can be affected because of that, and when the press and authorities pay attention to this type of relationship, they can also leave out real cases of sexual abuse, which of course are also another advantage for actors in bad faith.
September 1, 2023