Teacher Philip Padilla Gets 12 Years for Having Sex with a 14-Year-Old Student
In Van Meter, Iowa, Philip Padilla, 40, was sentenced to to 12 years in prison for having sex with a 14-year-old female student. The social studies instructor and boys’ basketball coach was sentenced to 10 years in prison for third-degree sexual abuse, and an additional two years for sexual exploitation by a counselor, therapist or school employee.
But this wasn’t the first time Padilla sexually assaulted a student. In 1993, he was with four counts of sexaul assault on a 15-year-old female student in Bethany, Missouri. However, he was acquitted of the charges.
And if you don’t think these relationships are damaging, just read what the victim and her mother told Padilla in court:
The mom: “You portrayed yourself as the cool teacher. Teacher of what?” she said. “As you told her, part of what turned you on was her lack of experience so you could ‘teach her.’ ”The victim: “To think you were in love with me was foolish. I should have known. … I don’t see how I am supposed to go on with my life, ever,” she said. “All you did was lie to me and use me. And you knew exactly what you were doing.
The father of the Missouri victim was also in the courtroom. He told reporters that even though 14 years have gone by, he and his daughter still haven’t completely healed from the damage Padilla did to them.
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student-teacher affair, Philip Padilla, sexual assault, healing, sexual abuse, sexual predator
April 23rd, 2007 at 7:25 am
What people don’t understand, this is about theft of a child’s trust and innocence. Armed Robbery of the Spirit. It takes a long time for these children to learn to trust again, and who to learn to trust.
You could hear it in the Mother’s Testimony, and even more-so in the Daughter’s Testimony. This family was very brave, and the young girl quite courageous to face down Padilla like she did.
Thanks for reporting on this,
April 25th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
As an advocate for a domestic and sexual violence advocacy agency I see daily the effect of childhood sexual abuse. The majority of the women we work with have had their childhoods destroyed and their adult lives made difficult by the unthinkable actions of so-called adults. In my opinion the penalties for child sexual assault are not nearly severe enough for the amount damage caused.