Child-Rapist Freed Early

(Marysville, Washington) Three years ago, 2nd-grade teacher Susan G. Lemery, 41, was convicted of five felony sex crimes, three counts of child rape and two counts of child molestation, and sentenced to five years in prison. Lemery, a married mother of three, was found guilty of sexually abusing her 14-year-old son's friends.


Susan G. Lemery
Next month, Lemery will be released from prison after serving three of her five-year sentence. Credit for good behavior and time spent in jail knocked two years off her stretch. She is classified as a Level 2 sex offender, meaning there is a "moderate risk" that she may commit another sex crime.

Although the judicial and penal aspects of the Lemery case are pretty much a done deal, reasons exist for it to be revisited. First of all, even though Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair gave Lemery the maximum sentence allowed by law, she qualified it by stating, "The sentence today can never match the harm done." So, in the opinion of the judge, Lemery got off lightly with a five-year stretch which, by the way, she's not doing.

Secondly, when a comparison was made between Lemery and schoolteacher Mary K. Letourneau, who did seven and one-half years for rape of an adolescent boy, a case detective scoffed.

"Mary K. Letourneau fell in love with one boy and had a relationship. Susan Lemery took advantage of whoever was there," Detective Lee Malkow said. "Let's just say there was no romance involved."

Thirdly, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Lisa Paul expressed concern regarding Lemery's continued denial of responsibility for her actions and what that bodes for the future.

"It is important to keep this defendant on a very short leash when she is released," Paul said.

And lastly, while remaining resolute in denying any wrongdoing and unapologetic for the harm she inflicted, Lemery was insultingly flippant about her crimes and conviction.

"It was a lot of fun being out with the kids and doing fun things," she said, "and I just wasn't thinking."

Excuse me, but responsible law-abiding adults don't commit sex crimes on children and maintain that they are merely "doing fun things." Susan Lemery will be out of prison next month. Hopefully, she's changed her attitude about doing fun things and is ready to act responsibly. There's a "moderate risk" that she hasn't.

Now I know that there are those of the opinion that her crimes are minor. I've heard the argument that older women molesting boys is merely a rite of passage into manhood and, therefore, harmless. Some people think that there are no victims. Those people should think again. Harm occurs to kids that are victimized. Boy or girl, it's a fact. It's a myth to think otherwise. Most important, nobody knows the ultimate result of the psychological trauma on her victims. The victims' lives have been irrevocably changed by Lemery doing fun things.

Add on the simple reality that Lemery's children will never look at her the same as before nor will her husband. The whole family has been stigmatized by having a convicted child rapist as a member. 'Home sweet home' has soured. Consider also the many friendships and acquaintanceships that have been forever altered.

Adult women sexually molesting boys is not harmless and, at some level, there are usually many victims. No less than a man molesting little girls, women committing sex crimes should be treated just as harshly. Anything else ignores reality.