Published: August 29, 2009 08:32 pm      

Justice served in Burton case

The sad and appalling saga of former Orange County educator Jennifer Burton drew to a close earlier this week, as Burton was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty on charges of sexual assault and improper relationship between an educator and student.

We believe justice was served in the case. For parents to send their children to a third party to be educated and tutored takes a special kind of trust — whether said third party is compensated with public or private monies -- and Burton shattered that trust with her actions. No doubt more than a few parents of school-age children who see Burton's story will be wondering if their children will be preyed upon at some point during their time in the school system, and that is grossly unfair to the educators who maintain their professionalism and integrity in their work environment.

As if the situation was not bad enough already with Burton being caught once and then allegedly going back a second time, the implication of Burton attorney Larry Hunter — that the minor female with whom Burton had the relationship should be held accountable — only makes it that much more outrageous. No matter who initiated the contact, Burton was the adult in the situation, and as such she had the full and complete responsibility to disengage herself from it.

It is our fervent hope that Burton repents for her actions and gets her life back together — and that we never see another case like this in Orange County.