Teachers have the right to sleep with their students, Alabama judge rules

An Alabama law barring teachers from having sex with their students was ruled unconstitutional Thursday by a state judge who also dismissed charges against two instructors who were facing 20 years behind bars for sleeping with students. [...]

Under state law, school employees "engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student," even if consensual, face not only possible jail time but also a lifetime on the sex offender registry. [Carrie] Witt was accused of sleeping with two students, aged 17 and 18, respectively. [David] Solomon was accused of having sex with a 17-year-old. But their lawyers argued that Alabama's law - passed in 2010 - violates teachers' equal protection rights guaranteed under the 14th Amendment, because it treats educators differently under the law than other citizens. [...]

Prosecutors plan to appeal Thompson's ruling, local media reported, and next stop for the case will likely be the Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals.

source: Article 'Teachers have the right to sleep with their students, Alabama judge rules' by Tess Owen; news.vice.com/story/teachers-have-the-right-to-sleep-with-their-students-alabama-judge-rules?utm_source=dmfb; VICE News; 11 August 2017