Teacher Gets No Jail, $100 Fine for Sex Charges

(Mays Landing, New Jersey) Last September, 28-year-old teacher Traci J. Tapp was arrested on charges of official misconduct and sexual crimes involving three male students. Ultimately, Tapp was charged with one count of sexual assault, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact and three counts of official misconduct.

From CourierPostOnline.com:

Between January and February 2001, Tapp sexually fondled a 17-year-old male student whom she invited to her office in the girls' locker room at the high school, according to Atlantic County Prosecutor Jeffrey Blitz.

Tapp invited another 17-year-old boy to her home, where they engaged in sexual activities under her direction in June 2001, Blitz said.

Tapp also invited a 16-year-old student to her home in 2003 and they engaged in multiple acts of sexual intercourse one night, according to the prosecutor's office.

In summary, Tapp regularly had sex with students over a period of years. Had Tapp been convicted of the charges against her, she could have received a possible 50 years in prison.

Strangely, Tapp pleaded guilty yesterday to harassment by offensive touching in accordance with a plea agreement and was fined $100. The prosecutors asked for a probationary period but Judge James Isman declined. However, Isman directed revocation of Tapp's teaching credentials. All in all, Tapp pays a few dollars and walks.

I am at a loss for words to describe my astonishment.


[Update 1630EST]

It appears that Traci Tapp has read this post and decided to comment. For the sake of discussion, I'll reproduce her unedited comment here.

Just to let you all know... I decided to take the plea b/c my lawyer told me there is always that 20% chance of going to jail. I guess this is strange that I only loss my lic and a small fine but the truth is this should not have even went that far. To me, (on what i know) think they would not have even had a case, but that "what if" ...jury finds me guilty on 1 count. The system is too screwed up to take chances.Its hard to trust others with your life. I have too good of a family to not see them everyday, esp my neices and nephew. These kids that made these accusations will never care how much they can affect ones lives b/c either they all wanted money, didn't like me, i didn't give them a chance, but whatever it is it will come back to haunt them.There is no protection for teachers. Everyone will believe what they want but I can move on, not deal with these types of kids. Though I will always wonder if i made the right choice. I just felt like for those of you who helped me needed to know this.

Thanks.
tt | 01.31.06 - 1:12 pm

Thanks for commenting, Traci. I appreciate that you are going through a very difficult period right now.

According to your comment, you pleaded guilty to a lesser charge primarily to avoid the chance of being sent to prison. And, based on available evidence, the lesser charge was offered because the prosecution did not have a strong case supporting the charges initially filed. All this makes sense.

However, with regard to your accusers, you state that their actions will come back to haunt them but you didn't actually deny their truthfulness. This leaves an observer to wonder if there was actually any basis for the allegations. If the boys lied, there should be some followup corrective action. Arguably, few professionals are as vulnerable as teachers to allegations of sexual impropriety. It's important that all teachers be extremely vigilant in avoiding circumstances that could lead to false accusations.

Nevertheless, as a disinterested observer, I still have no feel for whether there was any substance to the allegations. I don't know whether you're innocent or guilty. I don't know whether the boys lied or not. All I know is that a 28-year-old woman was charged with sex offenses regarding relations with three students and she was sentenced in court to be fined $100. The gross disparity between the seriousness of the charges and the ridiculousness of the final outcome is the basis for my astonishment. And, to my knowledge, the court discussed no significant mitigating factors.

I'm a believer that teachers who engage in inappropriate sexual behavior with students should be treated harshly. I also believe that female teachers and male teachers should be treated comparably when convicted of inappropriate sexual behavior. Frankly, Traci, if you were a guy who was guilty of harassment by offensive touching of high school girls over a period of years, I don't think you would walk away with a $100 fine.