A Texas high school teacher has been fired for allegedly defending pedophilia during a class debate on the topic, although she reportedly clarified that she does not condone sexual relations with minors.
Last week, a student recorded Franklin High School English teacher Amber Parker telling students to refer to pedophiles as “minor-attracted persons,” the El Paso Times reports.
“Don’t judge people just because they want to have sex with 5-year-olds,” Parker can be heard saying in the recording, according to the newspaper.
After the student posted the recording on social media, the El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted unanimously to terminate Parker’s employment.
Parker has reportedly said the comments were taken out of context and that she made it clear to students that she does not condone pedophilia.
Board trustee Daniel Call initially told KFOX-TV that Parker was “pretending to advocate a position she didn’t actually believe in order to challenge the students in preparation for them reading the book ‘The Crucible.’”
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However, Call told the television station after the vote that “there were more things that the public may not know about that was included on the closed findings.”
“Any reasonable person that heard what the seven trustees heard would’ve voted to terminate Amber Parker,” Call told KFOX-TV.
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Parker, who may appeal the board’s decision, told the Times that she was prohibited by law from commenting on the matter.
The teacher’s husband, Jason Parker, wrote on Call’s Facebook page that his wife is an “innocent woman.”
“It is both scary and disturbing that an edited 18-second clip could destroy a 30-year career when taken completely out of context,” Jason Parker wrote on Facebook, according to KFOX-TV.
“She is exemplary as a teacher and truly cares about the students. Needless to say, we have spent many sleepless nights because of this cruel release to social media of the 18 seconds.”
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[Featured image via Pixabay]
