# School fires teacher because her jailed ex might cause trouble when he gets out? Right call or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 13, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907 "2013-06-13T15:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/81 "2013-06-14T03:25:37Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > That flawed logic could be used to fire every almost victim of domestic violence. This guy is in jail at the moment, and apparently he’s going to be there for another couple of months. With a sentence like that, odds are he’s going to be under a restraining order when he gets out, and if he violates the order, he’s likely looking at even more time. With a conviction for domestic violence, I believe he’ll be unable to lawfully own a gun. The odds of him going after her at work again seem rather low. You’re kidding, right? ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/82 "2013-06-14T04:00:50Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I guess the diocese could find the woman a similar position in a different diocese in a different state if they wanted to. nope, that option is only available to paedophiles. victims of domestic abuse ranks below the noise from a few parents. ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/83 "2013-06-14T04:06:53Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Imagine the outrage if this woman’s violent husband showed up at the school again and shot some of those kids. The school would be vilified for ignoring the problem. The lawsuits alone would bankrupt the school. > > Defusing a potentially violent situation by terminating one employee is the best course of action. > > Remember this lady is responsible for getting this violent guy arrested. He’s going to come out of jail even more angry and out for blood. She needs to use this opportunity to move out of state and start a new life. Otherwise she’ll probably get another beating and maybe even die. Just another stalker victim in our failed justice system. > [@brickbacon](#): > > Doesn’t this story just highlight why you don’t negotiate with, or cave in to the demands of terrorists and crazy people? What if some guy calls the school threatening to plant a bomb there unless the principal is fired? What if the husband in this case says he’s gonna shoot up the school unless they rehire his wife? At a certain point, you can’t allow your decisions to be dictated be unstable bullies. I think these two viewpoints spell out the dilemma. Personally, I say keep her. The school caved in this situation and it does not look good on their part. They had other options to deal with this situation but instead they took the easy route. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/84 "2013-06-14T04:17:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Imagine the outrage if this woman’s violent husband showed up at the school again and shot some of those kids. The school would be vilified for ignoring the problem. The lawsuits alone would bankrupt the school. So people with criminal exes can’t get jobs at schools? What about hospitals? What about courts? What about any fucking job where people don’t want to get shot? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/85 "2013-06-14T05:14:44Z")
Interesting - in Canada, in this situation, the school would be breaking our human rights laws by firing the woman; it would be considered marital status discrimination, which has been to include not just things like “single” “married” “divorced”, but also the status of being married to a particular individual. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/86 "2013-06-14T05:25:53Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > You’re kidding, right? No. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/87 "2013-06-14T13:24:57Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > It’s not my responsibility to make my opponent’s arguments for them, especially when – as in this case – my opponent asserts his own solid knowledge and then highlights it with a factually inaccurate statement. What was the factually inaccurate statement? As best as I can tell, you’re claiming it was: [QUOTE=Czarcasm] Didn’t he teach that his followers could [raise the dead] if they just believed? [/QUOTE] If so, could you explain how that’s incorrect, given Matthew 17:20? [QUOTE=Jesus] He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” [/QUOTE] If not, could you clarify for me what the incorrect statement was? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/88 "2013-06-14T13:30:16Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > I missed the part about the children. So, if it’s right to fire a teacher because she’s a victim of domestic violence, is it also right to boot children out of the school for the same reason? I have a far greater problem with this bit than with the firing. I assume the kids aren’t actually being kicked out but will no longer be able to attend the school because they won’t get free tuition, but surely they could have finished out the term. Maybe they did. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/89 "2013-06-14T13:36:49Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I think that’s a very facile analysis. You’re welcome to your opinion. > [@](#): > > Presumably the Christian believe that the Bible as a whole is divinely inspired, and thus other books must be read in at least some harmony with Jesus’ words. Paul’s teachings certainly take a stronger position on certain aspects of sexual immorality, and the Christian, by virtue of his belief in the divine imprimatur, can certainly give those words weight. The Bible does indeed say a great many things, and they don’t all share the same emphasis, or even fail to contradict one another. At some point, one must have an approach to make sense of the whole thing. As a Christian, I regard the centrality of Jesus as fundamental - and not just the centrality of Jesus as a Magic Salvation Wand, but the centrality of his words and his apparent outlook on life and beyond. I believe that if you don’t read the rest of the Bible through the prism of the Gospels, you are doing it wrong. Paul may have emphasized issues of sexual immorality more than Jesus did. How do you resolve this difference in emphasis? Maybe Paul had specific situations he needed to address. But you can’t override Jesus with some other part of the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![UrsusSiara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@UrsusSiara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrsusSiara)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/90 "2013-06-15T02:17:11Z")
As for someone losing their job because of what someone else "might (or might not) do. Pure cowardice. They should get the shit sued out of them. That said, Several things about this don’t add up. The facts as I have been able to discern them… Divorced couple. Ex Wife has restraining order against ex-Hubba. Said restraining order grants Dad contact with Mom “regarding matters concerning their children” according to his mouthpiece. (mouthpiece goes on to say that hubba went to see if ex’s car was in parking lot when she failed to reply to him because “he was worried”) Teacher complains to Principal about a “rough” weekend with the ex. on Monday Morning and tells the Principal “to be on the lookout for her ex-husband”. In one interview she said "Basically, we’d had a very bad weekend with him, we’d called the sheriff’s department three times on Sunday with him,” The Principal, in her letter to parents on Wednesday wrote “Due to events that had transpired over the weekend that had been brought to my attention yesterday morning, I arranged for Security Guards to be on Campus throughout the day” (That being Tuesday) On notice that “_the_ vehicle belonging to Mr. Charlesworth was in the the back parking lot” The Principal stated “AS per my direction, the school went into a “precautionary” lock-down as Security approached Mr. Charlesworth and the Police were called.” Here’s what bugs me about this. And btw I am not defending or attacking any of the parties involved. The restraining order obviously allows direct (vs. 3rd party) contact between ma and pa. about parenting matters. It will be interesting to find out what the terms of it actually were. And judging from the “rough weekend” comments, there was some kind of disagreement (to put it mildly). But if Dad had broken the terms of the restraining order as was implied by Mom who told the Principal that the “Sheriff was called 3 times on Sunday”, why was he (Dad) there on Tuesday? I did not see anything that said indicated that an arrest warrant had been issued for him which is nearly automatic in such cases. And why would Mom tell the Principal to “be on the lookout for her ex”? Did he make a threat against her or the school? Again where are the cops? If there was a serious threat to the school, why didn’t the P call the cops? Do you seriously believe the Officer of the Watch at the local precinct wouldn’t have dispatched a car or two in light of recent events? Instead, she hired Security Guards for the NEXT Day?!? And then when “THE” car belonging to this “Holy Terror!” (sorry) is spotted in the rear parking lot the School snaps into “precautionary” (precautionary?!?) lock-down as previously instructed by the P ( are you starting to feel like maybe they were expecting him?), meanwhile the “Security Guards” approached this lock-down worthy threat (clearly they were not expecting him to be armed or dangerous, SG don’t pay all that!) while the Police were called. (I wonder what for? The Principal’s letter said that “at no time were the student’s of staff threatened”) Okay good job Principal for averting disaster (and you staff and students for your quick thinking!! 2 stars!!). And clever of you to retain the extra security for yourself (while sending the “victim” and her kids on extended leave to rough it on their own) even though “Pops” was arrested the following day. “He eventually plead guilty to stalking or making a criminal threat according to the DA” Which one? they are 2 different crimes. and contrary to reports that he was convicted of 2 felonies, he only got 1 yr. (time served) and 4 yrs probation which means mis-demeanor. If this guy was all that why would the DA accept anything less than a felony? Nailing jerks is good for one’s political career. I’m sorry. I smell a rat. Scratch that. I smell more than one rat. I’m not saying Mr. C is a good guy. I don’t know him. But I haven’t seen anything other than allegations and hearsay that he actually endangered anyone. Nor could I find any news story about a lock-down at this school in January on either national or local feeds. As for the guys past, the media insinuated this and that but it “was unclear how they (the cases) were resolved”. Really?? AB fuckin C news can tell you what t-party candidates wipe their ass with but can’t find a local correspondent to dig dirt at a couple of county courthouses?? Maybe its the way it’s being hyped. I dunno. I could be wrong but my bullshit detector is off the hook the more I read about this. If anyone’s got anything solid I’d like to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/91 "2013-06-15T03:38:20Z")
> [@UrsusSiara](#): > > “He eventually plead guilty to stalking or making a criminal threat according to the DA” Which one? they are 2 different crimes. and contrary to reports that he was convicted of 2 felonies, he only got 1 yr. (time served) and 4 yrs probation which means mis-demeanor. I’m not quite sure I understand the chain of reasoning employed to reach this conclusion. Can you explain how you concluded the conviction was for a misdemeanor? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/92 "2013-06-15T04:02:08Z")
> [@UrsusSiara](#): > > If anyone’s got anything solid I’d like to see it. San Diego Superior Court, 02/01/2013, case number CE327383, shows a felony conviction for Martin Chaseworth. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/93 "2013-06-15T16:06:51Z")
Absolutely appalling. I can’t imagine them doing this with any other kind of stalker. If that was the norm, imagine how easy it’d be to ruin people’s lives! I could see it now-- cut me off in traffic? Fine, I’ll follow you to work and you’ll lose your livelihood. It’s absurd. Of course, it wouldn’t come down to that, because whats really operating here is the perception that in domestic violence cases, the woman must have done _something_ wrong. We know nothing about this woman. I grew up in a region with high methamphetamine use. It was not at all unusual for normal suburban guys to pick up a meth habit and develop psychotic symptoms in the course of a few months. Their normal suburban wives would divorce them and move on, but obviously couldn’t really do much about having a raving psychotic ex. Not every domestic violence case is some kind of self-perpetuating cycles. Sometimes shit happens out of nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/94 "2013-06-15T16:38:30Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > It’s not unusual for women like this to bail him out of jail, call him up and tell him where she is even though she’s been warned repeatedly not to do so, etc. My job has sometimes put me in contact with the system of domestic violence resources. I know of women who have been **banned from the domestic violence shelter** because they told their abuser the location of the shelter despite being sworn to secrecy on the shelter’s location. These shelters often keep their precise location a secret to try to prevent the abusers from showing up and harming anyone at the shelter. While this may seem heartless to some people that these shelters would turn ANYONE away, I do understand why they sometimes have to ask individual women to leave for the safety of everyone else. For that reason, I would be reluctant to judge the school without knowing the whole story. They may have had additional information that hasn’t been made public that gave them good reason to be worried about the situation becoming dangerous for the kids. Unfortunately, domestic violence is a very volatile, high risk situation and it is well documented that sometimes abusers will kill innocent bystanders in the course of venting their rage against their victim. For example, off the top of my head, I recall hearing about [this guy who killed his wife and two of her coworkers even though the wife had a restraining order against him](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Azana_Spa_shootings). I do feel bad for anyone who is involved in a domestic violence situation. I understand why it is hard for some women to leave the situation. However, I can also picture myself being horrified if someone I loved was killed because of someone else’s domestic violence situation. With all the school shootings that have occurred, it doesn’t surprise me at all that a school would not want to take any chances of having a mass slaughter of their students by a crazed, angry individual. I can’t honestly say that I would feel comfortable having my (hypothetical) child go to a school where I knew the school might become a target for someone who has a history of violence and trouble controlling their anger. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/95 "2013-06-15T19:31:24Z")
> [@UrsusSiara](#): > > If anyone’s got anything solid I’d like to see it. He’s in prison for a felony that is related to his threatening-stalking behavior. I think that’s sufficient proof that he is considered a dangerous guy. Some ex’s can play annoying games with visitation and similar and play as if they are huge victims, but to get to the point you are \*actually sent to prison \*you have to be doing more than simply being a pest regardless of how high she had the drama turned up. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/96 "2013-06-16T00:01:51Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > The odds of him going after her at work again seem rather low. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > You’re kidding, right? > [@Oakminster](#): > > No. If he has already shown a supreme lack of judgment by going after her at work once, what do you base your opinion that he wouldn’t do it again? He didn’t think through doing that before he had time to fume over it in jail, so why would he have a cooler head now rather than be more fired up to get back at her? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/97 "2013-06-16T00:15:30Z")
So, has the school fired the ex-husband yet? Because obviously he has some position on the school staff, given that he’s setting policies of the school. The first step is to stop him from being allowed to set policy. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/98 "2013-06-16T04:11:29Z")
What evidence is there that this is a policy? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907/99 "2013-06-16T04:28:59Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > If he has already shown a supreme lack of judgment by going after her at work once, what do you base your opinion that he wouldn’t do it again? He didn’t think through doing that before he had time to fume over it in jail, so why would he have a cooler head now rather than be more fired up to get back at her? Because the stakes are higher now. He has to know he’ll face stiffer penalties if he continues. Not everyone is some obsessed nutjob. He made a bad decision. He’s paying the price for it. When he gets out, hopefully he’ll want to get on with his life and put this behind him. In my experience, that happens more than the other way around…and I’ve handled a lot of domestic violence cases over the years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-fires-teacher-because-her-jailed-ex-might-cause-trouble-when-he-gets-out-right-call-or-not/660907.md?page=4)