Teacher Admits Sex with Girl, All Charges Dropped - Updated

(Albany, California) Yesterday, 55-year-old Albany Middle School teacher Kay Sorg admitted to engaging in a four-year sexual relationship with a female student, starting when the girl was 14 years old.

Although Sorg was facing four counts of sexual assault of a minor, the prosecution decided to drop all charges.

According to Alameda County District Attorney Danielle Hilton:

“Under oath Sorg gave a detailed account of her emotional and sexual relationship with the victim beginning when she(the victim) was 14, ” Hilton said. [...]

“We dropped the charges because the victim did not want to testify, because Sorg agreed to resign, and because she is no longer a danger to the public, ” Hilton said.

Therefore, unlike other female child sex offenders who walk away from court without any meaningful punishment, Kay Sorg was able to skip away without ever even going to court.

Thankfully, District Attorney Hilton has officially declared that Sorg will not be a future danger to the public. It's not clear how Hilton can be assured of her contention but it does suggest that she may have a future providing tips on the stock market.

The fact that Sorg resigned her teaching position seems to be a nonsensical basis for not prosecuting her. What prevents her from just turning around and applying for a teaching job elsewhere?

In any event, the most troubling aspect to the Sorg case is the precedent-setting ipso facto decriminalization of admitted child sex crimes. One must wonder what will happen the next time an adult female has extended-term sexual relations with a female child and a female prosecutor must enforce the law.

I would speculate that a male teacher in similar circumstances, admitting to sexually abusing a student for four years, male or female, would not have all charges dropped. The prosecutor would have his carcass in court.

In my opinion, the handling of the Sorg case represents prosecutorial malfeasance. An alleged set of crimes was committed, as agreed to by the accused, and disposition of the case should have been within the purview of the court, not the district attorney. Judges and juries can't do their jobs if cases never goes to court. (Tip: Mystery Man)


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CA Teacher Arrested for Sex with Girl
[Previous 5/8/07 post]
(Albany, California) A 54-year-old seventh-grade science teacher at Albany Middle School, Kay Lynnette Sorg, was arrested this morning for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a female student in the 1990s. According to Albany Detective Sgt. Tom Dolter, the victim notified the school who alerted the police to the allegations.

The victim was between 14 and 17 year old and a student in Sorg's class. The alleged sex occurred between December 1990 and August 1994. Police conducted a six-month investigation prior to her arrest.

Sorg faces 13 felony charges, including lewd and lascivious acts on a child, oral copulation with a minor and sexual penetration with a minor. She was booked into the Glenn Dyer Detention Facility and released on $150,000 bail.


[Update 01/05/08]

From MercuryNews.com:

A judge instructed a prosecutor Friday to amend his complaint against an Albany teacher accused of having sex with a high school girl in the early 1990s.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Sandra Bean denied a request for an evidentiary hearing from the attorney representing Kay Sorg, but agreed that the prosecution's complaint against Sorg was insufficient. Bean instructed prosecutor Greg Dolge to add more specific information about the evidence he plans to present.

"We do need more specificity in the people's complaint," Bean said. "Specificity was required in cases such as this," for which the statute of limitations has expired.

Judge Bean ordered the prosecutor to provide evidence of corroboration of the accuser's complaint and to show it is admissible in court.

A followup hearing is scheduled for February 5th.