Teacher Leaves Wife, Kids for High School Student

Dairy Ashford · Apr 7, 2012

rocketsjudoka said: ↑

Shocking!

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2...dent-arrested-on-1998-molestation-charge?lite

Ex-California teacher who moved in with student arrested on 1998 molestation charge

Christopher James Hooker, the Modesto, Calif., ex-teacher whose romance with a student drew attention from around the world, was arrested Friday after being charged with one count of oral copulation with a minor in an incident that police said happened 14 years ago, the Modesto Bee reported.

The charge stems from a relationship Hooker is accused of having in 1998 with a 17-year-old student at Davis High School in Modesto, where he was teaching at the time, the newspaper said. Hooker was arrested at his home and booked into Stanislaus County Jail, police

said.
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Hooker entered a not guilty plea in Stanislaus County Superior Court, where a judge set his bail at $50,000 and assigned him a public defender, the Bee reported. A bail reduction hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Police were already investigating whether there was a criminal case against Hooker, 41, who resigned his job to move into an apartment with an 18-year-old girl he met while teaching in Modesto.

During the investigation of that case, police said, it was alleged that in 1998 Hooker befriended the 17-year-old student, developed a romantic relationship with her and sexually assaulted her.

After his recent relationship with the 18-year-old came to light, Hooker was placed on administrative leave Feb. 3 by Modesto City Schools and resigned less than three weeks later, according to a report at the Modesto Bee.

Hooker had taught business and computer classes. He left his wife and children to move in with Jordan Powers, an Enochs High School senior whom he met when she was a freshman at the school. One of Hooker's children attends the same high school.

"In making our choice, we've hurt a lot of people," Hooker told the Bee in March. "We keep asking ourselves, 'Do we make everyone else happy or do we follow our hearts?' "

Tammie Powers, the student’s mother, told the Bee she believes Hooker pursued her daughter, and she cited recent problems with her daughter’s grades and health. Her daughter had panic attacks, Powers said.

"I believe it was the stress of the lie," Tammie Powers told the newspaper.

After Hooker moved in with Powers, California Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, crafted legislation to strip teachers of retirement benefits if they have romantic relationships with students.

"My point is, whether you're 18, 17 or 14, the fact remains that a teacher is in a position of authority and influence over that student, and therefore, it is highly inappropriate," Olsen said.
Click to expand...

I guess if 17 is below the age of consent over there, the alleged victim (as opposed to her parents) is willing to testify and they can prove it after 14 years, then he'd need to be prosecuted and sentenced. I don't know how long I would put a 26-year-old in jail for being with a 17 year old, though.

Really not a fan of the pension legislation, either.

Sano611 · Apr 7, 2012

looks like common sense kicked in

http://gma.yahoo.com/california-stu...lt-arrest-131605656--abc-news-topstories.html

A California student who left school, her family and her friends to live with her teacher boyfriend has ended the relationship after the teacher was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting another girl 14 years ago.

"He called me from jail and yes, I told him that we're done," Jordan Powers, 18, told ABC News in an exclusive interview. "I lost everything for this guy. I lost my senior year. I gave up all my friends at high school because they didn't agree with me."

James Hooker, 41, was arrested in Modesto, Calif., on Friday after police discovered he had an an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student in 1998.

Hooker has been under investigation for his involvement with Powers, his former business class student, with whom he appeared on national TV programs earlier this year to profess his love.

Hooker was charged with one count of oral copulation with a minor and is in jail, according to a statement from Modesto police.

"He told me that he met her online and he hung out with her just as friends and then he went to her house and she came out of the bathroom naked and he only touched her boobs and her legs," Powers said. "He was freaked out so he left and went home. He said nothing else happened, but all of that was a lie."

Despite the charges, Powers said nothing happened romantically between her and Hooker prior to her 18th birthday.

The teen said she believed the woman came forward now to help her see the truth about Hooker and rescue her from the relationship.

"My heart dropped. I felt betrayed. I just have a gut feeling there are other girls," Jordan Powers said.

Her mother, Tammie Powers, has publicly tried to end the romance from the beginning and expressed relief at Hooker's arrest.

"It's my contention all along that he used authority and that he's a predator," she said.

But a reconciliation between mother and daughter isn't happening just yet.

Jordan Powers said she is staying with a family friend in another state while she recovers from her heartbreak.

"How could he lie to me for all these months and look me in the eye and tell me he loves me?" she said. "I don't know how someone could have such a cold heart."
Click to expand...

Big MAK · Apr 7, 2012

If you're old enough to drive a car, you're old enough to make your own bad decisions.

Dairy Ashford · Apr 7, 2012

Sano611 said: ↑

looks like common sense kicked in

http://gma.yahoo.com/california-stu...lt-arrest-131605656--abc-news-topstories.html
Click to expand...

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