A teacher who already had been found guilty of having sex with a boy who was under the age of 15 said at her sentencing phase of her trial this week, "I was the monster these families think I am." An honest admission from a teacher who had betrayed massive trust of students, parents, family and friends.
That teacher was not Debra LaFave.
This teacher's name was Toni Woods, and late yesterday she was sentenced to four to 20 years in prison for having sex with multiple boys under the age of 15. Woods did try LaFave's trick, though. Her attorneys tried to get the court to believe that her actions were caused by her mental illness and Prozac. The court didn't buy it and gave her the penalty – which on the low end still seems rather light to me. Sex with four children only gets you four years?
Would that the judge and the prosecutors in the LaFave trial could have gotten four years for the monster in that case.
LaFave's story is all the more damning because she makes no admission. Listen to what the "American Woman" says: "No one reported on my bi-polar. The media were so mean." Yeah, babe, cry us a river.
LaFave's joke of a press conference reminded me of a snotty brat that always gets her way. And the problem now is that her press conference was in essence the final say on the matter.
Now, mental health professionals will have to yield to LaFave's version of events, because those who diagnosed her were never questioned as to the accuracy of their diagnosis. No true cross examination took place forcing the facts on LaFave's true mental state. Fortunately, my listeners are much more savvy. And while the rest of the world is willing to let LaFave skate, we are not. These were just some of the observations listeners to my show, "The MuscleHead Revolution," made in discussing the matter yesterday.
- How is it that her bi-polar symptoms only mysteriously appeared once she had been charged with the crime?
- How is it that her former husband has no recollection of bi-polar symptoms prior to the discovery of her sins?
- How is it that her school administrators, doctors and even parents were unable to discover her bi-polar nature throughout the entirety of her life?
- How is it that if her first incidence of sex with the minor was based on her bi-polar problem, did it only resurface and reoccur when she was sexually aroused to be with the same student again?
There were a lot of other things LaFave said in her press conference. Listen to the arrogance for yourself – a la Mrs. Robinson. Since much of my audience are Christians, from New York City to Humble, Texas, they openly doubted the veracity of LaFave's claim that she is a "strong Christian woman." I also drew personal amusement from the fact that while she also slammed the media coverage of her trial in every other breath, she then stated that she had decided that journalism was the pursuit she should follow since she could no longer teach.
If you can't get them to like you, become one of them, huh?
But by far the most insulting statement LaFave made was the fact that this entire, sad, evil charade that had played over the last 18 months amounted to nothing more than "a bump in the road." (Listen for yourself.)
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