Teacher-Boy Sex May Link to Crimes

(La Verne, California) In April 2006, a 47-year-old special education teacher at Allen Avenue Elementary School, Debra Lynn Pence, was convicted of molesting a 15-year-old boy who was her former student. Pence was sentenced to probation. No surprise there.

Well, it seems that Pence's name has popped up in a news story regarding the 15-year-old boy, now 17, that she molested. Matthew Wanamaker has been somewhat incorrigible since Pence was sentenced, according to his parents. He has been implicated in threats of violence against Bonita High School where he attends and, last week while the nation mourned the deaths at Virginia Tech, he was arrested for the alleged burglary of his parents' home in which a shotgun, a rifle, and three handguns were stolen.

Matthew Wanamaker's parents immediately notified officials at Bonita High School which was subsequently closed.

Arrested with Wanamaker were three accomplices, Kimberly Valazza, 44, Shane Saucedo, 24, and Kent Bonilla, 23. All were booked and released on bond.

Now, I refuse to contend that Matthew Wanamaker's problems have anything to do with having been molested by 47-year-old Debra Lynn Pence. It could very well be coincidental that he became an angry, thieving criminal a troubled youth about the same time Pence was convicted. However, if someone else asserts that the molestation and the criminal behavior are linked, I won't dispute it.