Did Obama's "Safe & Drug Free Schools Czar" Promote Man-Boy Sex?

This report is shocking.  The recently appointed "Safe and Drug Free School Czar", Kevin Jennings, has come under fire for publicly relating what is being dubbed "Brewster's Story".  According to reports Jennings, as a teacher, learned that a 15 year old boy had sex with a man he met in a bus station restroom.

The complaints about Jennings stem from what some are calling his dereliction of duty (he did not report the illegal activity) and his seeming approval of the behavior (he asked the boy if at least he used a condom).

I do not know if “Brewster” was below the age of consent, nor whether Jennings was a mandatory reporter or violated mandatory reporting laws. When members of the National Education Association protested an NEA award to Jennings because of this incident, Jennings called the criticism “potentially libelous” and a GLSEN lawyer demanded a retraction. But when officials at Concord Academy -- the school where Jennings had taught -- were asked about the scenario described in one of Jennings’ accounts, a school spokesman said that such an incident should be reported.

In any case, public service requires adherence to a higher ethical standard than bare compliance with the law. Instead of veiled threats, Jennings now owes the public a thorough explanation of the “Brewster” incident. Regardless of the law, a 15-year-old who meets sexual partners in a bus station restroom requires more than a condom to be “safe.”

Kevin Jennings has neither the temperament nor the ethical standards needed for public service. His history suggests a commitment to serving only one narrow part of the student population, not all students. He is unfit for the post to which he’s been assigned, and Secretary Duncan should withdraw his appointment at once. [Human Events]

But website which Google identifies as a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual blog says that Jennings is being slimed.

In May, Kevin Jennings was appointed Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Department of Education’s Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools. Since then, every fundamentalist nut job has taken a whack at Jennings. The reason that they are attacking Jennings is simple; He is gay. Furthermore, the right wing is doing anything that they can to undermine President Obama. They ar trying to get Obama to terminate Jennings as a desperate show of (waning) force.

The incident that the Washington Times cites occurred in 1989 when Jennings was 24 years old and a closeted high school teacher in Massachusetts. A 15 year-old teen, "Brewster," confided in Jennings that he had sex with an older man in a bus depot restroom. The age of consent in Massachusetts is 16. Technically, Jennings had an obligation to notify law enforcement. Had he done so, he would have exposed the boy's sexuality — keep in mind that this was 20 years ago. The teen would have been subjected to some very embarrassing questions like what he was doing at the depot in the first place. Furthermore, this would have undermined Jennings' ability to get students to confide in him. It was a difficult judgment call. (my italics and underscore)

Ultimately, there is nothing "Problematic" about Mr. Jennings. Nor does this depict any flaws in the vetting process. Mr. Jennings graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. He became a high school history teacher after graduation. He became the faculty advisor to the nation’s first gay-Straight Alliance. He was a Joseph Kingenstein Fellow at Columbia University, where he received his M.A. Kevin earned an M.B.A. from NYU’s Stern School of Business. He has authored six books and helped write and produce the documentary Out of the Past, which won the 1998 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary. In his "spare time," Kevin founded GLSEN.He is a highly accomplished individual who is entirely qulaified for the position he holds.

As I read the complaints about Jennings, the issue being discussed is not directed at his sexual orientation, but rather his handling of a matter of child rape.

This is highlighted by the very odd comment above by the author who came to Jennings defense that obeying the law presents a "difficult judgment call." 

Obeying the law is a duty, not a judgment call.  This just goes to show you how truly out of touch the far left can be.

Comments

[CJ]

I guess Sean Hannity admitting Brewster was 16 and not 15 the other day isn't good enough for you? Nor is a driver's license saying he was born in 1971? It's quite clear Marc that you can't handle the truth. There was no statutory or any kind of rape with an older man. Period.

[cj]

Jennings was mistaken and meant to say 16, not 15, Marc. You obviously are not keeping up with the story and haven't even tried to.

Use the google after you read this and type in "Brewster driver's license" and you'll see that he was born in 1971. CNN confirmed he was 16 at the time of his encounter with an older man on 10/2/09. See it here: http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200910020042

[Marc]

CJ
Jennings himself put the boys age at 15 in a speech he gave to GLSEN in 2000. The audio and a transcript can be found just about anywhere. Until Jennings can clear it up, I feel pretty safe using his own words.

[CJ]

Brewster was 16, not 15. Please correct this article now. Also, Jennings has, as of last Wednesday expressed regret for not reporting Brewster's troubles/concerns to medical and legal authorities.

All (I hope) would agree that his regret should have come a lot earlier than 2009 and I am skeptical of his sincere regrets now. Doesn't mean he doesn't deserve his White House job. But this is a hard lesson in how people in public life need to own up to their past mistakes ASAP and not wait for others to report and smear them for their own purposes (like Fox News and others are doing now). If Jennings loses his job over this controversy, he has no one to blame but himself.

[greengrass]

By Jenning's account, after his discussion with the 15yo the kid had a smile on his face for the rest of highschool. Probably because he was getting laid by men and loving it. We, as a society, need to grow a brain and recognize (what we all already do recognize in our personal lives!) that everybody is different. Some people are ready. Some people are not. Some people are in danger. Some people are not. These blanket edicts against adolescent sexuality are ridiculously contrary to nature, and cut off our ability to talk like rational people, and act rationally. Instead we get metapolitical game playing like we have here, with speculations about some ADVICE given 20 years ago becoming the defining moment of a public figure's life. This is not an "honest" or "respectful" way of going about our political thinking. Being honest and respectful would mean asking what this particular boy needed in his life at that particular moment. If it was support for being who he was, against the contrary opinions of his parents and of conservative America (who like nothing more than to think about gay sex and gag), more power to him. I've heard nobody give anything except a blanket "but it's child rape!" argument. It wasn't rape if he liked it. EVERY MAN UNDERSTANDS THIS.