A loyal reader passes along news of a “Hot for Teacher” case from California:
Former Tustin High School personal trainer, Hope Ashley Jacoby, 24, was today sentenced to three years of informal probation and 240 hours of community service, after pleading guilty to four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and three counts of oral copulation with a minor.
Jacoby admitted to having sex with a 16-year-old male student in her car and at her home on several different occasions throughout 2008.
Sounds as if she’s been servicing the community plenty already. (And what sort of Beautiful People community hires personal trainers for students?)
School officials learned of the relationship when pictures of Jacoby were found on the student’s phone.
The nature of those photos being a tantalizing detail the reporter left hanging.
The prosecution, led by Deputy District Attorney Nikki Buracchio, asked Judge Gregory W. Jones for a more substantial punishment considering the position of trust Jacoby held as a trainer at the school, before handing out the sentence.
But Judge Jones ruled against the DA’s office wishes.
All of Jacoby’s offenses are considered felonies, but were reduced to misdemeanors on account of what Judge Jones considered “a totally consensual relationship.”
“Totally consensual”? Dude, like it is Southern California.
Judge Jones described the student as a “willing participant” and “somewhat enthusiastic” about his relationship with the defendant. He also noted that the student “engaged in deception” in an effort to have the relationship continue for as long as it did.
I’m shocked, shocked to learn that 16-year-old boys are eager to get blowjobs from 24-year-old women and even lie about it. What is this country coming to?
The student was permitted an opportunity to make a victim-impact statement at the hearing today, but did not make an appearance in court.
Complaining about sex after the fact is just bad form.
Jones also noted that in 34 states, the age of consent is 16. He said the defendant did break the law in California, where the age of consent is 18, but would consider his own behavior to be derelict if he did not take into consideration all factors, including what he called the insignificant age gap, and the ability for 16-year-olds to be tried as adults when they commit felonies in some cases.
Now there’s some judicial activism. Let me apply the much simpler Libertyblog standard: The Rule of 24. The young man was 16, and therefore the woman must be a least an 8 on a scale of 10 to avoid punishment.
My reader passed along only a news account with a mug shot—a deliberate attempt to mislead this court?—but some quick Googling revealed these photos. It’s a close call, but I’ll give the defendant the benefit of the doubt based on her cleavage. Not guilty. She is advised to stay away from 15-year-olds and fried foods if she continues shopping in the teen department.