Teacher-Student Sex Is Now Legal in Arkansas
Arkansas teachers can have sex with students who are age 18 and older, the state Supreme Court ruled, calling a ban on such conduct unconstitutional.
In a 4-3 decision Thursday, the court said adult students, 18 and older, have a constitutional right to consensual sex. The age of consent in Arkansas is 16.
The court reached this conclusion as it dismissed the sexual assault charges against David Paschal, 38, of Elkins, Ark., a teacher at Elkins High school. Paschal was sentenced to 30 years in state prison after admitting to a months-long, consensual sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student.
The majority decision criticized the law for infringing on Paschal’s “fundamental right to privacy,” saying the law “criminalizes sexual conduct between adults.”
While Arkansas has an interest in protecting adult students from the sexual advances of teachers, the law is not “the least restrictive method available” to fulfill this interest.
“Regardless of how we feel about Paschal’s conduct, which could correctly referred to as reprehensible, we cannot abandon our duty to uphold the rule of law when a case presents distasteful facts,” according to the majority opinion authored by Chief Justice Jim Hannhan. “Paschal’s convictions for sexual assault in the second degree are reversed and dismissed.”