A Child Molester Files Suit Against Victim's Parents?

Everyone has a story about a "bad" teacher. But it's usually a kid who simply dislikes a teacher because they thought the class was too hard, or the teacher was too hard on them.

Pictured to the left is Anne Knopf, a substitute teacher who had sexual relations with a 13-year-old boy. A boy who was her own daughter's boyfriend at the time. (Gotta admit I have a little trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that 13-year-old kids are considered seriously in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship myself. Meh -- I'm probably just showing my age now with this thought.)

The boy's parents became aware that there was a problem with this teacher after learning of emails being sent back and forth between the two back in the spring of 2007. They filed for, and were granted, a restraining order against her and an investigation took place. What came out in court was that there were several encounters and the woman was convicted of second-degree sexual assault of a child and she was sentenced to nine months in jail and probation for five years in July of 2008. She also has to register as a sexual offender for the rest of her life.

(Personally I think she got off lightly. Had this case involved a male teacher and a 13-year-old girl I can't imagine a prison sentence of only nine months. It's a shame society in general thinks it's less of a crime when the molester is a woman.)

This is where the story should end. But it doesn't.

Apparently this woman decided she'd been wronged somehow and decided to sue the victim's parents stating the parents were negligent in their supervision of the boy which allowed her to have a sexual relationship with him for five months. I guess she felt that parents of 13-year-old boys should keep them in eyesight, or under lock and key, 100% of the time.

Thankfully the court threw this ridiculous suit out. But it's hard to believe a college educated person would feel this would fly in the first place. Sometimes having an advanced education doesn't necessarily make you a smart person. But what's really sad is that in her warped mind, even considering the thought that say the parents were possibly negligent somehow, is the fact that she's using it as justification for her crime.

I wonder if she goes into a store, notices the sales clerk isn't looking and thinks, "Well heck, they've got these shirts sitting right here at eye level on this shelf so I'll just pick one out, stuff it in my purse, and leave with it. After all the sales clerk didn't see me."