Last night on the news there was another teacher charged with sexual assault. He has been teaching for 14 years and this past week he was accused of 4 counts on 2 students.
He is on paid leave.
How many times have we heard stories like this. Too many. There are other teachers that are convicted of similar crimes and move to other parts of the country and do it again in new schools.
What about amateur sports? We have had a few local cases of sexual assault and there are many more nation wide. What about catholic schools? What about the Indian residential schools? Sexual abuse has been rampant in these "religious" schools. When I was in high school there was talk of a few of the female students sleeping with 1 of the gym teachers. You hear about many stories in public school like this. Sending your kids to camp or on sporting trips and other club trips is dangerous.
There are also many cases of sexual assault on minors by the police. The prison system has been in the news about rape and assault from guards.
Why is this going on?
It's hard to find a rapist/pedophile during job screenings especially when they have yet to commit an offense. There is no iron-clad national database where all offenses can be accessed during the hiring process for positions of trust.
But I think the biggest problem is...
Punishment.
Our laws up here in Canada and in parts of the USA are too lenient for criminals. The punishment never fits the crime.
I won't have too much argument on that 1 I bet. But I'll drop the bomb...
We should bring back the death penalty for these types of crimes!
Think that's too extreme? Think again.
Rapists and pedophiles, murderers and terrorists should all be put to death. And quickly.
It costs 10's of 1000's to house a prisoner each year. The prison system spends more $$ than the school system. Prisoners get a warm place to sleep, 3 meals a day, health care, access to exercise, schooling... all for free.
The death penalty should only be for the most heinous crimes. Lesser crimes should make financial sense too. A person can get 5 years in jail at a cost of $100,000 for theft of less than $1000. It doesn't make sense. I don't have the answer on what to do there and I am getting off topic.
We need to protect our children. No one wants their kids to be sexually abused. If you have the death penalty you may scare pedophiles off from taking jobs around children for fear they may be put to death. I wish I could say they would voluntarily seek treatment but I don't think that often happens.
All we can do is protect our children as best as we can. We can get involved in their activities and keep a watchful eye out. We can have open communication with them so they know they can come to us when something happens. And we can severely punish those who commit these types of crimes.
Give me your feedback... I would love to hear your take on this.
