Wednesday, October 04, 2006 5:27 PM

Dear Editor (Newsday)

I refer to the article "Prosecutor: Teacher hid affair" in your newspaper 4 October 2006.

In writing the article, Aflonso Castillo refers to statutory rape and child sexual abuse as "sex." He writes that the teacher "had an affair" with a 15 year old girl. Adults do not have "affairs" with children. Child sexual abuse is not romance. It is rape. It's about power.

As your article itself indicated, the defendant, high school teacher Danny Cuesta is charged with third degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child. Referring to statutory rape and child sexual abuse as "sex" and "having an affair" implies a condoning of actions that are not only immoral and illegal, but which have painful and long lasting effects on the child to whom they happen.

Sincerely,
Amanda Atwood

Wednesday, October 11, 2006 8:39 PM

Dear Editor

I was pleased to observe that the four articles in your newspaper today which dealt with issues of rape and sexual violence did so in a straightforward way that reported the information clearly without sensationalizing it. I appreciate that and I am sure many other readers do as well.

Thank you also for publishing my letter concerning your 4 October article ìProsecutor: Teacher hid affairî in your newspaper today (11 October 2006). I was encouraged to see it there.

But you headlined the letter ìWordplay: Itís rape, not ëaffair.íî It is disappointing that even in titling the letter your editors missed the point. The difference between ìrapeî and ìaffairî is not one of word play. It is not a superficial distinction. In no way can statutory rape and child sexual abuse be placed in the same category as a romantic physical relationship between two consenting adults. Intimating that it can be merely contributes to the mischaracterization of sexual abuse and perpetuates the denial which enables this criminal behavior to thrive.

Sincerely,
Amanda Atwood