Inappropriate Student-Teacher Relationships from a Former Victim's View

There are a lot of thought-provoking stories in the news these days of teachers having inappropriate sexual relationships with the students in their care. This is not a new trend.

The woman, Krystal, who told me this true story of her sexual relationship with a coach, James, at her school, graduated from the high school over 10 years ago. She has never reported the incident to officials and because of that she has asked me to change the names in this story to protect her identity and the identity of the coach involved.

Krystal had know James most of her life. She was friends with his little brothers Pete and Alex. She was 2 years younger than Pete who was the youngest of the 3. During her Freshman year, Kristi, Krystal's best friend began to date Pete. Krystal had no boyfriend at the time. From here, things progressed slowly.

James was in college during her Freshman and Sophomore years. He came to the high school as a student teacher in Civics during her sophomore year. The two of them started hanging out with Pete and Kristi, along with Alex and his girlfriend, Desiree. No one thought anything about it since they were always in a big group and the 3 brothers had always been close.

James began to teach at the school during Krystal's Junior year. They began to spend a lot of time together since she was his student aide. He was also a coach and she was very active in the sports program.

Shortly after the start of the school year, she found herself in some sexual situations with James. During his planning period, she was often in his classroom helping out and she would frequently find them very close to one another.

In December, she rode with Kristi, Pete and James to an out of town football game. When the game was over, Kristi and Pete decided to leave with some friends before Krystal and Pete were ready to leave so, Krystal and James found themselves alone for the ride. They stopped on the way home to get something to eat. James sat with his hand on her thigh.

That night was the first night of the sexual relationship. It continued for a year and a half. They would sneak kisses at school when no one else was around. They had sex in a number of places including his car, classroom, the gym, the locker room and on a bus; among other places.

Krystal says the advances from James made her "feel sexy and powerful" so, she never reported the relationship. She was 16 when it started and he was 22. She says she did not think it was wrong because "it was only a 6 year age difference" and her parents were 8 years apart in age.

She says that James is still a teacher. She states that to the best of her knowledge, James "has never had a relationship with another student".

Krystal is now a happily married teacher and mother of 6. She says that her experience has helped her to be a more observant teacher and parent. She adds "As a parent or an educator, you can never be too observant" and she is right!