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Teacher fired after testifying |
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Monday, 17 November 2008 |
A Vermont teacher for juvenile sex offenders has been fired for
testifying before state lawmakers, he claims in a report in the Rutland
Herald.
Chuck Laramie, a 16-year veteran teacher at the Howard Center, was placed on administrative leave and then fired, after telling legislators looking into the Brooke Bennett murder that they need to take the dangerousness of juvenile sex offenders more seriously. "I've learned a lot about these kids and how they behave," said Laramie, "and I thought it was important to provide the committee with that perspective."
Laramie says sex offender treatment professionals should not be threatened by his testimony. "Of course I believe in treatment--I've dedicated the last 16 years of my life to it," he says. "But if people think it's a cure-all, it's not. Many offenders are going to do it again. That's not pleasant to hear, but it's true, and we need to deal with that fact and not lie to people about it."
The Howard Center, part of the Vermont Achievement Center, denies that it fired Laramie for his testimony, though the Herald found evidence to the contrary. Vermont state senator Dick Sears thinks the Center is not coming clean. "I have serious, serious concerns about what kind of impact this is going to have on the type of testimony we receive in the future."
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