Jennifer Rice: I Know What Boys Like
A little more has emerged about Jennifer Rice, the Tacoma teacher who took private lessons to the most disgusting extremes we’ve seen in years. Seems like the reverse Lolita had been trouble before.
The Tacoma News Tribune filed this report:
Jennifer Leigh Rice came to her first teaching job with a 3.46 GPA from Seattle Pacific University and “excellent recommendations,” according to records obtained Wednesday by The News Tribune.
Within six months, Rice, then 23, was placed on administrative leave from her job at Spanaway Lake High School after being accused of attending a party where students were drinking alcohol and smoking pot; giving students rides in her car despite being warned not to; and making “verbal advances toward (a) male student,” according to her personnel file.
Nine years and two teaching jobs later, Rice, now 31, is charged with the sexually motivated kidnapping of a 10-year-old boy she taught at Tacoma’s McKinley Elementary School.
She’s pleaded not guilty and was being held in the Pierce County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Pierce County deputy prosecutor Mary Robnett said Wednesday that she anticipates filing more charges against Rice, who reportedly told detectives she had sex with the boy as many as five times.
One of those liaisons occurred at a highway rest stop outside Ellensburg over the weekend after Rice abducted the boy from his home, according to court documents.
Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said Wednesday that detectives are investigating whether there are other victims.
The Tacoma School District, her latest employer, requested this week that the state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction launch an investigation into Rice’s conduct, agency spokesman Nathan Olson said Wednesday.
Tacoma school officials were apprised of at least some of Rice’s problems at Spanaway Lake High not long after they hired her in October 2006, according to Bethel School District records released to The News Tribune as part of a public records request.
Those troubles began in February 1999, when district administrators received reports that she was inappropriately fraternizing with students and had “a thing” for one of the male students in the Spanish club she supervised, according to records from her personnel file.
One student, a girl, told district administrators that Rice showed up at a February 1999 party at a student’s house where alcohol and marijuana were being used, according to the records.
Rice walked into a back bedroom where the girl was lying on a bed with a male student and asked the boy if he was sexually aroused, according to the records. Rice later denied making that statement.
A different male student told district administrators that Rice had called him at least twice at his home and once at a friend’s house.
The student said Rice “says she likes him, and he has perceived that she would like to be romantically involved with him,” according to district records.
Rice later told administrators that she had called the boy and been to his home but had no romantic interest in him, a report in her personnel file states.
Rice spent the rest of the 1999 school year on leave before resigning, district records state.
Responding to a reference request from Tacoma district officials last year, Bethel human resources director Judy Borgia sent a letter to her counterpart in the Tacoma district, Bonnie McGuire, on Nov. 20, according to Bethel records.
Borgia notified McGuire that she had signed off on the Washington State Sexual Misconduct Disclosure Release for Rice – which meant Rice was not found to have violated any laws or rules governing sexual misconduct – but she asked McGuire to call her regarding “another issue documented in (Rice’s) employment file,” according to the letter.
Borgia did not specify in her letter what the issue was.
A later note entered in Bethel’s files shows that Tacoma deputy superintendent Ethelda Burke and district human resources manager Chantana Yuong met with Rice on Dec. 18, 2006, to discuss her resignation from Spanaway Lake High.
The note mentions that Bethel notified Tacoma officials of Rice’s attendance at the student party and her transportation of students in her car.
The note did not mention anything about Rice’s alleged romantic advances toward the one student.
Burke warned Rice not to attend student parties or drive students around in her car, according to the note.
Rice was placed on administrative leave from her job at McKinley in April 2007 for inappropriately socializing with students, Tacoma spokeswoman Leanna Albrecht said this week.
Rice was forced to resign as an elementary school teacher with Yelm Community Schools, where she worked during the 2005-2006 school year.
Posters on the Tribune’s site are divided on whether or not the school district is to blame.
Says June:
Here we go again. I don’t understand why this type of behavior goes undetected by the administrators of any school. Maybe there needs to be a more intensive background checks for those desiring to work in schools. In this case it wasn’t a matter of not doing a thorough background check but ignoring the signs of a disaster happening. In cases where misconduct has been stated at from another district and proven the decision whether to hire that individual shouldn’t be left up to the interviewing administrator but use an outside agency more trained to analysis the situation or person involved. I hate to hear about this type of things because it brings a cloud over our educational system and makes parents and students not trust anyone. It is hard to learn from those you don’t trust.
Says an anonymous poster:
People are so quick to yell and scream at school districts. Why would a school district not want to protect their students? If they thought she was capable, for a second, of creating a relationship with a ten year old boy, do you honestly think they would go ahead and hire her? These people have dedicated their lives to students–and would always put their well-being first if they thought that a student could be in trouble. She hit on an 18 year old student when she was 23 and a brand new teacher. An investigation went under and she was found not to have violated any sexual laws towards that student. How then, would Tacoma have known that she would try and take up with a 10 year old boy 8 years later? If they thought for a second that she would be out to hurt a child, she would not be working there. As soon as they thought things weren’t right, she was put on leave–BEFORE this happened with the boy. Do you think that they for a second don’t wish that this had never happened to that boy? She, on her own accord, continued contact with this boy when she no longer was with Tacoma Schools. They took her out of the situation, they took her away from those kids, Jennifer Rice kept it going. She was not still teaching these students and in class when this happened. She is the horrible woman that did this–JENNIFER RICE.
Jennifer Rice is to blame. She is the sick woman that did this. She is the one that took advantage of this little boy. It is awful that this wasn’t stopped before hand–but some things are out of another’s control. Her behavior was brought to the attention of the school district, and her past behavior did not prove that she had a history of molesting little boys. Blame Jennifer Rice, hope she goes to jail for the rest of her life, put the anger where it is due.
Public schools were very good to me. I never felt in danger and felt completely protected throughout all my schooling. Horrible things happen…THIS is one of those horrible things that was not forseen. Public schools take in our children every year and in 99.9% of these cases they are protected, loved, and nurtured. Very rarely does something like this happen.
It happens all too often, IMO. What do you think? Did the district heed their own warnings? Was Rice given a free pass because she’s a woman?
August 16th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
I think the school district should have keep on this. The first incident should have stayed on her record for the rest of her life.
If the elementary school had those records, they should have never had hired her in the first place, without doing some kind a evaluation on her.
Any teacher caught looking or showing any kind of interest in a student should be fired on the spot. Last year at my brother’s high school there was a substitute teacher that was caught making advances on a student, it was crazy.. and the sad thing is alot of people thought it was funny. Well in defense, the town I live in is kind of stupid.
This 10 yr old boy should have never been abused, society let this monster slip through the crack.
August 16th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
I guess I don’t understand how she was allowed to start working at a school, in charge of children, before her background and reference check was complete. Several years ago I worked at a children’s hospital in a completely administrative role, where the only contact I had with children was that I passed them in the hall while they were there to receive treatment. However, everyone at the hospital was considered to have “care and custody” of children and was governed by related laws (I don’t remember if they were federal or state laws), which mandated background and reference checks and a drug test. Those absolutely had to be in place before I could start my position.
Once she was in place in a classroom I can see how it would have been harder to remove her, in the middle of the school year, once the new information was received. But, I have to think that if the information had been received before she started the position, the district may have been much more hesitant to hire her in the first place. Can they be that desperate for teachers that they accept one with any sort of questionable blemish on her record? Which brings me back to not understanding why they had her in a classroom before the reference check was complete.
August 16th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Doctors lose their medical licenses. Lawyers are dis-barred. And probably many times it’s for much less egregious offenses than this one.
I think these teachers, after the FIRST; offense, should lose their teaching license in EVERY STATE FOREVER.
They are pedophiles. They are freaks. They do not have all of their pistons firing. They will never change. Go directly to jail. And NEVER let them out. Because they cannot be rehabilitated from everything I’ve read.
I think of all the lives ruined by the Catholic priests. Adults scarred forever. That’s what’s happening to these school children.
Being a victim of sexual abuse, I know that it NEVER, EVER goes away. NEVER. It changes you, it hurts you, it haunts you, you can’t run away from it. It’s THERE and always will be.
I hope these schools, parents, lawyers, and whoever else is needed, band together and really try to STOP this tragedy.
And I don’t give 2 ##### that Mary Kay married Villi…. it’s SICK. Her sorry butt should still be in jail too. Imagine having her for your mother. HORRORS.
August 16th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
I’ll say its happening way too often as well.
(This is a web rag, but I saw it yesterday and it is actual cases.)
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53859
Warning, the list is LONG.
August 16th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Its really kind of hard to blame the school district. She has never got caught doing anything besides acting bizarre.
She is obviously very smart, going her grades in college. And there are plenty of nutty professors as they say.
August 16th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
come on, i think the writing was on the wall with this one.
August 16th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Five years between the 1st and 2nd teaching jobs, then “forced to resign” from the 2nd one teaching during the 2005-2006 school year??? I’m going to have to read some more about this chick. My guess is that we will soon hear more about other students – especially if she was employed as a substitute teacher during the gaps in the timeline.
August 16th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
I agree that we will probably find out more now that this is out. Students and parents will be coming out of the woodwork.
Michelle, the writing is on the wall in hindsight in almost all crimes. Fact is though, she was never caught doing anything illegal before this.
August 16th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
I agree with Melissa and the anonymous poster from the article above who said, “People are so quick to yell and scream at school districts. Why would a school district not want to protect their students?”
August 16th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Melissa,
No she wasn’t caught doing anything illegal, but they it was definitely cause for concern.
I’m not saying that the school district is fully to blame but what this “loser” was doing wasn’t normal. It should have been on her permanent record and following her around to every job she applied for.
Public teachers have a tough job, especially jr. high and high school teachers. They have so many kids in there classes. In high school, I didn’t do so well because I thought the teachers didn’t really care. I was 1 of 120 students they saw every single day.
Elementary school teachers, usually, have the same kids the whole year. I wonder if any of the other teachers saw any of the “relationship” she had with this kid.
With this behavior, sadly, becoming more regular I think parents should have access to the teachers background. It probably seems far fetched and unrealistic, but something needs to change in the public school system.
August 17th, 2007 at 5:41 am
I think the school district did ignore the warning signs. Lets face it. If she were working at a corporation and was out partying and smoking dope with employees she more then likely would have been fired on the spot. Besides, why would you have to tell someone who is 23 and a teacher that hanging out at parties drinking and smoking with teens is innappropriate? If she were teacher material (or professional material) she would need to be told. Sounds to me like she exhibited all the signs of someone that had issues with maturity to begin with. Not doing anything illegal is not good enough. She did something very unprofessional that pertained to children.
You know what else. The schools are so hard up for teachers right now that I don’t think they do have the students best interest at heart. I think they want to make their agenda for classrooms and funding.
August 17th, 2007 at 6:21 am
She was never caught smoking dope. And you cant convict her on what 2 kids said. They did talk to her and she denied it.
I work for a huge corporation and they dint pay attention to what I do after hours. It also looks like they were looking at her behavior. She was put on leave back in April.
I still lay the blame solely on her. And sadly she probably wont get as much time as a man who would do something like this. This is where I agree with everyone else. The system (not the school district but the courts) DO absolutely treat female predators differently then the males.
August 17th, 2007 at 6:23 am
(that dint wasnt me, that was my spell checker lol)
August 17th, 2007 at 6:45 am
TXMichelle- I don’t know about where you live, but the schools where I am are definitely NOT hard up for teachers! There are many more students graduating in education than openings available! Also, as has been pointed out, the previous issues of inappropriate fraternizing with students (partying, socializing) were not of a sexual nature. A couple of kids said she made inappropriate comments, which Rice denied. When she continued socializing with students (again so far nothing sexual proven) she was forced to resign. It had been “following her around” (her socializing w/students) but the article states that she had not been found guilty of any sexual misconduct at that time. I, too, place the blame solely on Rice. I believe the school district acted appropriately with info available at that time. Who could have predicted sexual behavior with a 10 year old from her fraternizing with high school students (which on the surface does seem to be a maturity issue)?
August 17th, 2007 at 6:46 am
LOL I knew what you meant. I meant to say “she would not need to be told”.
I just feel like even if it is questionable they should have held off giving her a position in a teaching atmosphere.
When I say corporations, I mean fraternizing with your employees. Everyone that I have worked for that was a big no no and an offense that you could be terminated for.
When my hubby was going for a management job with a restaurant it took two weeks for the background check to be done. They went back twenty years! That was just for a restaurant. I think it should be even more stringent for jobs such as teaching.
August 17th, 2007 at 6:53 am
Exactly TXMichelle. My husband had to go through extensive background checks, and drug tests before he got his VP job here in Atlanta. Should be the norm these days.
August 17th, 2007 at 6:57 am
Fraternizing with your employees? Do you mean like going to social events and weddings and family parties, golfing etc? Getting married to someone higher up than you?
That all happens at my company, granted we are all adults.
August 17th, 2007 at 6:59 am
I DID have to go through an extensive background check as well though (took a damn month for me to start here after I was given an offer).
Background checks do not cover something you have never been convicted for however.
August 17th, 2007 at 7:26 am
Nope not talking about weddings etc. Talking about partying with your employees. Big difference to social situations. The fact of the matter is they knew she had some allegations made against her. If her reputation with CHILDREN was questionable they should have either not hired her, or conducted more of an investigation. I realize that the two making the initial accusations were teens, but why would they say it?
August 17th, 2007 at 7:29 am
The last two districts failed. Teachers are not asked to leave jobs, especially in the middle of a school year, unless there are serious problems. I wonder what she was doing in the years between her first teaching position in high school and her reentry into education at the elementary level. Certifications are specific to the level of instruction and that is an unusual change — or at least it is in my part of the world. How she got rehired is a big question and it looks like they passed her along and hoped they had avoided questions or complaints — i.e., Catholic church. If parents knew the real reason Rice had been fired, then parents would question their kids about possible problems or parents would be angry at the district for putting such a person in a position of trust — all valid reactions.
The Letourneau case was one of the weirdest and abusive cases I have ever read. People on all levels were just ignorant, stupid, and with concerted effort ignored Letourneau’s egregious behavior. And the more they ignored and pretended it wasn’t what they thought it was, or hoped it would go away, the more Letourneau became empowered that she could do anything she wanted. Her defenders and supporters asserted Mary Kay was too classy, too pretty, too popular, too fun, to quirky to be a bad person and they justified her perverted behavior before, during, and after her sick abuse was discovered. Just a word, being a fun teacher does not make you a good teacher or a moral person. I found those assertions as offensive as Letourneau’s arrogant defiance she was in “love” and not a pervert. Not only is she a pervert but she has made big bucks from being one and has reached celebrity status for her sick behaviors.
August 17th, 2007 at 7:34 am
There is usually drinking going on in these gatherings, but that is neither here nor there.
Teens making accusations against a teacher they dont like and that they cant prove? I would say that happens a lot to innocent teachers.
Like I said, its dicey, and with nothing to prove anything there is nothing anyone can do. Even in this case I am surprised that they got as much information as they did about her since they couldnt prove anything. General HR practice when asked for a reference is to just confirm that a person worked there. Saying anything more (like she is a weirdo, something just isnt right about her etc) is grounds for litigation.
August 17th, 2007 at 7:44 am
Rose, she was never technically fired from what I have read. She is a contract teacher. (whatever that means)
August 17th, 2007 at 8:33 am
She was asked to resign twice. The school was notified about her behavior and the school was asked to call about another documented incident not in the letter. Sounds to me like the two previous schools made the attempt to let them know they were making a mistake bringing her on. Also it appears that the two previous schools were equally responsible in the regard of asking her to resign so that they wouldn’t have to fire her and have the scandal that goes along with it.
Washington is not a right to work state, so they would have had to had some hard proof to fire her, I suppose that might be why she was asked to resign.
August 17th, 2007 at 9:23 am
CompassRose, where I live certifications are also specific to the level of instruction EXCEPT for substitute teaching, in which the teacher does not have to be specifically certified for the level in which they are substituting. I do think that the previous article said she was hired as a substitute at the elementary school.
August 17th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Teachers are contract employees. You traditionally work a one year contract that begins with the academic start of the year. Teachers contracts end with the school year but they can be paid over twelve months. Contracts for the next school year are given before the current school year ends. In my part of the world, only first year teachers (meaning the first year they work for a district) can be nonrenewed without cause. Even then, there must be some effort to assist the teacher to improve and meet the required standards of performance. That is typical of most any workplace, but teachers continue to work until the end of the school year and a new contract is simply not offered for the next year. It is very difficult to fire a teacher during the academic year and quitting is nearly as difficult. If you want to quit a contract 45 days before the beginning of a school year to take a different teaching position, the district has to release you from your contract, and if they don’t want to, they don’t have to. If you quit anyway, they can have your license revoked for that period of time which means you can’t work anyplace else. So, for Rice’s district to fire her during a contract year means she screwed up big time. I’m guessing she was hired to her last job midyear because she was available when a teacher quit because they moved, became ill, or had a baby — about the only reasons people normally quit teaching during the year. Rice probably looked good and passed the face to face interview, and they hired her without checking her references or her pervious work record. Even then, her work record could have hidden her real problems because districts do that. They don’t want to be libel for a poor hire or poor management of a teacher. I am sure when Rice left her jobs, the district told parents she quit for some acceptable reason that did not imply she had performance of emotional problems.
Teacher references are on a rubric and can are brutally worded to find flaws and point our poor candidates. I have filled them out for people. The person making the reference must send the form to the prospective employee not the applicant. Rice could have and should have been stopped.
August 17th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
But they didnt fire her Rose. She was asked to resign with one and quit when told they werent going to renew her with the other. They became aware of her prior actions in teaching positions, ones that can only be deemed kinda screwy, talking about voting kids out of the spanish club last year and the teens making accusations that couldnt be proved.
When the school that she last was at heard about her previous actions they put her on notice (I think you are probably right because in the articles it says she was hired as a replacement teacher and they didnt have the time for the references which were good on paper). She was put on leave in April because she violated the notice that she was put on. WAY before this happened. They thought she was acting inappropriately and were right. I am sure nobody thought she was having sex with a 10 year old.
August 17th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Asked to resign is synonymous with you are fired. If you are asked to resign before the end of the contract year, there is something seriously wrong. They aren’t doing this to help the teacher but to avoid drawing undue attention to what could be a volatile situation. Districts can handle fussy teacher stuff or inept teachers. It may mean baby-sitting the teacher through the rest of the year, but a teacher that is crossing the lines of propriety is putting everyone at risk. I think the last district knew they were in trouble and they did get her out of the classroom. Their liability is not having checked her references and knowing her history before they put her with children. Sadly, no matter what, it seems she was determined to get to a child.
August 17th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
First of all, I want to say that I agree 100% with what everyone is saying about Jen being responsible and the districts being responsible for their part in not following up as much as they probably should have.
I happen to be a friend of Jen’s (or so I thought – had NO CLUE any of this was happening, but I also live in a different state now) and I just wanted to remind everyone one something:
Obviously, this is HORRIBLE, especially for the victim and his family. AWFUL. I do not pretend to defend her in ANY way. Apparently I didn’t know her well enough (or anyone else for that matter). But if you are a praying person, please pray for Jen’s husband and three young kids as they are also victims in this. I don’t know for sure, as I haven’t talked to him myself, but I have a feeling that her husband didn’t know about any of it. Looking back, I wouldn’t put it past her to lie to him about why she left those jobs.
And as far as what she did for jobs in-between, I think she subbed and obviously she had kids of her own. I’m trying to rack my brain if I remember exactly what she was doing at what times, but I honestly don’t remember. Although we’ve kept in touch, I’ve only seen her a few times in the last several years. Nevertheless, it’s sickening, heartbreaking and those of us who know her are completely shocked and dismayed.
If there is ANY hope of her repenting and changing, I pray for that. But she needs to pay for her actions and do her time.
August 18th, 2007 at 7:06 am
Completely Shocked, thanks for the information, I do feel deep pity for Rice’s husband and her children. None of us can imgine how this is for them. I can even feel pity for her because she is a very sick woman and, so far, she has not gone on TV and presented herslf as some misunderstood victim. What a mess and so much hurt and pain.
August 30th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Jennifer Rice is a sick sick woman. She was at Spanaway Lake when I was there–and I was very good friends with the boy in question from that school. She called him and had a crush on him, but it never went beyond that, which is why they couldn’t just fire her. It is very hard to fire a teacher without concrete proof–which is why her contract was not renewed.
I don’t think that having a crush on a boy 5 years her younger could have been a foreshadow to her molesting a ten year old 8 or 9 years later…it’s just awful.
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Jennifer Rice should be held totaly responsible for what she did, I do not getthe school districts (Yelm) has hired others in the past knowingley. I believe that what they did as with others is they do not want to go to court so they tell them they can resign or it will go on their record so They resign and go to another school) See if they follow thru than they go to court and if they are not found guilty than the teacher accused can sue them, so they would rather move them on to another school. So when they resign and go to another school and the other school calls to get info on the teacher applying for the job they can not say anything because the teacher was never charged,( the teacher could sue for slander, so the schools just keep passing them along untill something like this happens, That is my theroy…. The schools and laws are terrible, now the Tacoma & Yelm school districts are back peddling they should be scared just as Jennifer Rice should be. I am sick and tired of our country not protecting our children..
September 10th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
I am a mother of one of her male students. I was just told today of what she did. Right now I want to throw up as my son has her picture framed in our hallway ( we each put one special photo up in the hallway and he chose her ) I am sitting here waiting for my son to come home from school and I have to say, IF she touched my son, IF he gets destroyed by this, I will be contacting the police.
I feel sorry for her husband and her children, I hope she didnt molest her own children too, as everyone knows and it is proven and stated in many text books, pedifiles dont just molest ONE child.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Mother of one of her students,
Hang in there. I hope Jennifer didn’t mess with your son. Let us know what you find out, OK.
Gregg
September 14th, 2007 at 8:09 am
I’m sorry the last post I sent mistakingly it was supposed to be an answer to different question
September 16th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Dear Admin, We got lucky. My son is very stead fast that she didnt touch him in any way, but he said he is worried about one of his friends whom spent time with this teacher after school on several occassions. She used to even offer them jobs cleaning the classroom for her during spring break etc.
When I had finished questioning my son and listening to his fears, he said – eww who would want to touch an old ladies body… typical thoughts from a 9 year old boy thank god. At that point I smiled and appologized to him for putting him in the hands of a dangerous person. I feel like I failed him. But I am wiser and he is safer now.
September 21st, 2007 at 3:22 pm
In my opinion, it’s wrong to have a double-standard. If it’s wrong for a man to do these things to a child, it should be as wrong for a woman to do it. I’m tired of people like Bill Maher saying that these boys are “lucky bastards” if they get to have sex with their teachers. It’s true that it’s a common fantasy for a young boy, but the damage is equally as harmful for a boy as for a girl. I don’t think these double-standards should be.
I hope we will get serious and start treating these sickos the way they should be treated: Lock htem up and throw away the key! The men should have their weenies whacked off and be made to eat them; the women should have their unterus forcibly removed without the use of a pain killer. I agree they cannot be rehabilitated! Let’s lock ‘em up for good, however much it costs the taxpayers. The kids’ right to be safe trumps all else here!
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:16 pm
People have to understand one thing…People like Jennifer are very good manipulaters and liers. They are easily liked and can win an academy award for their sincere performances. The first and most damning situation was her first job. But a little more understandable. She was young her students almost adults. and she did something stupid. but nothing against the law. any teacher who has been even wrongfully accused of something knows the pain of getting a job, but who wants to be judged by some of the stupid things they did in their 20s. I can see how a school would think that to be a resonable thing to over look and I know her… she flat out lied and said it never happened. It is hard to be a school admin and the school she worked at can get teachers there easily.
October 24th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
My son was a student of hers when she taught in Yelm for one school year. He adored her, I thought she was a great teacher. She motivated the kids with rewards and made learning fun. I left the first parent/teacher conference thinking, we could be friends. I learned towards the end of the school year that her contract was not being renewed and she would be leaving. My son and I were both bummed, I felt the district was not seeing what a great teacher she was. Don’t knock me for saying that, it is the truth. She decided to offer a reading/writing summer program out of her home for 5 to 6 kids that were in her class that year. My son was one of them. All the parents knew that it was not a school sanctioned program but we did it anyhow because we trusted her. Hindsight is 20/20 they say. When I found out about her arrest in August I was devastated! Then I felt like a complete fool for putting my child in harm’s way possibly. My husband and I talked about it for days and decided that we had to ask him if anything inappropriate had happened or with someone else he may have seen. That was not a conversation I wanted to have with my 9 year old son, he was 7 when he was in her class. He says nothing happened and I believe him. I have concerns about other kids though. I hope that if there are any other kids out there who have been hurt by her that they tell their parents and come forward. We need to make sure that she can’t do this to anyone else. My heart and prayers go out to her husband and boys. I hope that they can get the healing and peace they need.
December 4th, 2007 at 4:53 am
Ok if I was ten, I dont care I would totally be up for hanging out with her. I mean you really think that ten year old was opposed to it…I know I wouldn’t be I dont care, Its her fault as much as it is the ten year olds.
December 5th, 2007 at 12:43 am
if it’s as much the fault of the 10 year old then let’s make the leagal age of adulthood 10. That way no adult would be in trouble for having sex with anyone over 10. Then they could work in factories too. think of the money our country would save if we could utilize the 10 year olds and up as working adults.
January 14th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Don’t be mad at me but what u say and I guess I understand what you are implying but it’s totally mad comparison. We live in very complex world and to be successful u have to be well educated and there’s no way to land a decent job before your graduation from college. But sex isn’t work thanx to God and it’s the same throughout the centuries boy a girl and so on… Or do you mean you have to take a special 5 year course before starting your own sex life;)? Nonsense! and if you want to stress the point that if you aren’t an independent self reliant memeber of society u can’t make decisions on sex, ok my point is the more sophisticated our civilisation grows the longer one is supposed to stay at school instead of working. at least in countries with free higher education a lot of students just do their studying and don’t work. So is your point 22-23 years old are too immature and vulnerable to have sex?
January 19th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
After hearing everything said on this matter, it seems to me a tragedy this even happened in the first place. Jennifer Rice is responsible for her actions, but the school district is also responsible for being neglegent. They knew she was abusive and did nothing! Or, they SHOULD have known this from her prior conduct! I can’t believe people are so lackadaisical with those entrusted to work with children!
It was my dream to go back to my old high school and teach Spanish there, but my own poor academic performance and record in college makes that impossible now, and I can honestly say I would never take advantage of ANY of my students! Teachers are responsible for every single student in their classroom, and also for how they behave towards them! I was verbally abused by a teacher at the School for the Blind when I was twelve years old, and when I complained to the admin at the school, not only was nothing done, but I was not believed and told how lucky I was to have such a “great teacher”! Yeah right!
I think more should be done across the board to protect children from abusive teachers and other adults who would abuse these innocent children! It’s multi-faceted, and I would that we keep a sharp eye out for tell-tale signs that an adult has inappropriate intentions for your children! There are such warning signs, and you should learn what they are and keep your beady eyes peeled for them! Any teacher who fraternizes with your kid after school, gives them a ride home, etc., is over the line andn eeds to be treated accordingly!
To the young woman who said we should lock them up and throw away the key: I AGREE COMPLETELY! I think for the males, they should get their weenie whacked off and be made to eat it! Too bad our Constitution forbids such punishments; if you ask me, we need to impliment such penalties! I think we’d see a lot less of this sort of thing going on if we did that! It’s true they can’t be rehabilitiated, and I think we need to set things up accordingly! Re-releasing them back into society after they serve their time does society no good, even with Megan’s Law on the books! Incidently, I don’t buy this crap that the law is a violation of their “civil liberties”! A parent’s right to keep their child safe from those who wuold harm them supersedes any “right” these sicktards have!
Why wasn’t Mary Kay LeTourneau dealt with harshly and treaturously when she was caught in her affair? If she’d been punished accordingly, harshly, sternly, and unapologetically, we wouldn’t see as much of this, although given the above lengthy list of women who’ve done the same thing, I can’t help but wonder if it’s not been going on for years; it’s just that now, we’re hearing more about it, because of the Internet and mass media. Maybe the only good that can come of that is the increased awareness, and maybe we’ll get something done about it, and find a way to put a stop to this!
As the uncle of three great, wonderful, teriffic, totally awesome and way-cool teenagers, I can only say, I would be outraged and livid if something like that ever happened to any of them, especially to my youngest niece, who is only thirteen! She’s the apple of my eye and I love her dearly, and if ANYONE dared to hurt her, I would waste them myself if my father or my brother didn’t get to the creepo first!
In any case, as far as Jennifer Rice is concerned, she needs to be locked up for the rest of her life and forever stripped of her teaching credentials, and should never be around any kids ever again! She’s as sick as any male teacher who does this sort of thing, yet we do seem to have a double-standard when it’s a woman doing this sort of thing, for reasons I do not understand!
I hope everyone reading this will do something about it–starting with creating loving, healthy relationships with their kids, their nephews, and nieces, so they will feel loved and cared for and be less likely to fall victim to sicktards like these who abuse kids!
Thanks for indulging me, everyone, I know I went on, but I had a lot to say and I think it’s worth saying:)
Russ
May 13th, 2008 at 8:39 am
[...] They landed on Jennifer Rice: I Know What Boys Like. That’s the post about the Tacoma teacher who kidnapped and raped her 10-year-old student. Makes us wonder just how blemished was this searcher’s resume? [...]
November 17th, 2008 at 7:22 am
I realy wish i had jen for a teacher she is very beautiful. I had a few encounters with a female teacher when i was 12 and it was the most incredible thing in my life.I still have yet to find a woman that can give me the pleasure like linda did.she was in her late 20’s when it happened to me and I made sure we kept having our affair. I loved the feelings she gave me. if jen is the saim one i grew up with her and she is a wonderful girl, in bed and other ways as well and i wish i had stayed with her and got married to her.
May 23rd, 2009 at 12:50 am
Anyone who thinks (more thorough) background checks are the answer is kidding themselves. I have federally issued security clearance as do the people I work with. Does that mean that those individuals are that much cleaner than the rest of us? No. Only that they’re potentially lower risk. Outside of my day job I own an IT company. I’ve met lots of people in very respectable medium sized companies that at many levels I like, but can’t maintain friendships with because they smoke pot.
I was abused sexually as a kid by a friend who was a few years older. The fact that she was 23 and attracted to someone who were 17 or 18 isn’t farfetched. In fact, I’d say normal. Even in going to their parties – not that far out there. How many of us have younger / older siblings and connected with their friends? Especially in areas of higher population density. No one would even bat an eye.
Make no mistake. She crossed the line when the age gap widened and she targeted & sexually acted upon a 10 yr old. Definitely grounds for losing her teaching license. I agree with others that have stated, “she had no prior conviction or proof of wrong doing”. Fraternization: I feel is joke. Real in some instances, but mostly came about for people to feel equal to the guy next to him. Every employer opens the door for the “buddy system”. ie not to pick on smokers, but that little 10-30 minutes of time to get to become friends outside the working environment takes its toll. Don’t kid yourself. As an instructor I realized how easy it was to inadvertently abuse positional authority. Like, saying I don’t like a particular piece of equipment. Even if you teach it the students are now turned off to hearing what you have to say because they identify with & like you. Our school teachers do it every day with comments about their likes or dislike our president is great one.
It wasn’t all that long ago when men had wives half their age for the sole fact that disease killed off the local population to quick. We have beauty pageants that accentuate young girl’s curves. A media circus, because all of us want to know, that paid Mary K millions to hear her story. Movies that show glimpses of a girls panties, like that really needs to be in there. They must not have been able to edit it out … yea. Or that Victoria’s Secret can parade bra & panty commercials, but a woman is a whore and might be arrested if she were to walk around town in the same outfit. How does that work? It’s not because of the privacy of tv in our homes … just go to the mall and see the same add larger than life =) I find it funny that my ex-wife was appalled that I thought some of our daughters 20ish friends were sexy. She told me that, “unlike men, she could look at her daughters male friends and not see them in a sexual manner, just a nice young man”. Yet today she’s in her 40’s and marrying a kid who’s 23.
We put more emphasis on sex related crime than we do the people who’ve been to prison 3 or more times. I don’t see any bills about repeat offender registration. Why is that? We’re no safer with the sex offender registration just because we know. How about the guy who moved in that’s been convicted 6 times for dui? He doesn’t have to tell anyone.
Trying to actively be involved in our kids lives, teaching them the values we hold, and tools to aid them in getting out of a situation they’re not comfortable in is the key.
The writers of Boston Legal hit it right. The only morally right justice is revenge. You hurt my kid … Don’t standby for your beating, you better run cause I’m gonna f*** you up. Society has no justifiable right to mob someone. People speak of “Justice”, for who the victim? Did the victim say they wanted them to go to jail? Or parent if they were under age. Yet in most cases the charges come from the state. Even if the victim says they don’t care, the State’s Attorney can and usually does move ahead. Yep, just like the bra & panty deal- There’s careers & money in advertising. As if there isn’t enough keeping the judicial system busy. Must be the safety we feel when someone gets prosecuted, not to mention the guy who’s that smart and we don’t know about. Yep, brand them, I feel safer … ??? nope.
Most drug dealers can’t be rehabilitated either. Yet, I’m glad Chef Jeff’s cell key wasn’t lost. His story is amazing. Mary K, she looks truly in love with the kid she married. Don’t see her as a repeat offender. Who was the justice for in her case? I have no idea. Seriously, google Chef Jeff. People can & do change. Damn hippies were right about one thing… There really isn’t enough Love in this world! Why do you think these people went looking at younger kids and teens? They’re accepting & loving!
Where was the rest of the staff, students, or parents that this woman had access for five sexual encounters? I feel sorry for him. Probably doesn’t understand or have a lot of love. And now has to be told sex is bad even when you may have liked it and the girl was cute.
The woman has some issues, but she is far from being a monster. For the record, I support pulling her teaching license. Good thing she not a guy! She’ll actually be able to move on with her life when she gets out. Maybe she’ll be able to join Mary K for the “Hot for teacher” venue at that bar in Seattle. Yep that’s right. Moe money for Mary K.
June 16th, 2009 at 12:01 am
She is one sick ass woman. I had her as a teacher for Spanish at Spanaway lake high school. I knew something was a little fishy. She was a sucky teacher. all she did was flirt with the students.
January 30th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
OH crud! i just typed a nice comment and as soon as i submitted it it come up blank! Please tell me it worked properly? I do not want to sumit it again if i do not have to! Either the blog bugged out or i am just stuipd
, the latter doesnt surprise me lol.