Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
LAUSD Lawyer Gets Canned After Comparing Minor's Ability To Consent To Sex To Minding Traffic
LAUSD was not impressed with the lawyer's remarks (Photo by pattyphotoart via Shutterstock)
Yesterday, we talked about how LAUSD's attorneys were arguing in a civil case that a 14-year-old could potentially consent to sex with her 28-year-old teacher. One of the lawyers made a choice statement in an interview with KPCC, and LAUSD made a smart move: they fired him. One of those statements that W. Keith Wyatt—who had a been a lawyer for the district for 27 years, according to the L.A. Times—made was: "Making a decision as to whether or not to cross the street when traffic is coming, that takes a level of maturity and that's a much more dangerous decision than to decide, 'Hey, I want to have sex with my teacher.'"
Yes, that's right: a lawyer compared the ability to determine whether or not to walk into oncoming traffic to the ability of a 14-year-old student to field inappropriate advances from an authority figure twice her age. Somehow, the onus is on a young girl, not an adult teacher who has a primary responsibility to not touch his students in a sexual way.
LAUSD General Counsel Dave Holmquist announced today that Wyatt would not be doing any more work for them.
Wyatt made these statements to KPCC to defend the arguments he made during the a civil trial filed by the girl's family against LAUSD. The case in question involved a Elkis Hermida, a 28-year-old math teacher at Thomas Edison Middle School in Southeast L.A., who carried on a sexual relationship with his 14-year-old student over the course of several months. LAUSD attorneys argued that the girl consented to the relationship, saying that she had willingly lied to her mother and met the teacher at a motel for sex. They also brought up her sexual past in the trial, something that would not be allowed in a criminal case under California's "rape shield" laws. In the criminal case, Hermida was found guilty and sentenced to three years behind bars.
Holmquist called Wyatt's remarks "completely inappropriate" and said in a statement, "Respect and empathy must be at the core of how we approach these cases, and Mr. Wyatt's remarks did not reflect that commitment."
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
