Kevin Jennings Safe School Czar: Kevin Jennings Condom for 15 Year Old Boy

Kevin Jennings is Obama's "Safe School Czar." Jennings is a former teacher, a gay man and, at best is ambivalent of, and at worst, is approving of pedophilia.

Kevin Jennings

To begin the conversation, is Jennings the Safe Schools Czar or the Safe Sex Czar? Actually, there's no difference. Can we get this guy out of Czar-land? According to a news report, Kevin Jennings, some 20+ years ago, did not report a minor student who told Jennings he was having sex with an older man. Jennings referred to the boy as "Brewster." Before I go on, I know you probably already know about Jennings and Brewster, and I have information that may be new to you toward the end of this article. First I'd like to ask the question, does it get any more frightening than this [source Human Events]?

He wants homosexuality to be taught in American schools -- in his book Always My Child, Jennings calls for a “diversity policy that mandates including LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] themes in the curriculum.” But he wants only one side of this controversial issue to be aired, and apparently believes in locking sexually confused kids into a “gay” identity. That’s the implication of his declaration, “Ex-gay messages have no place in our nation’s public schools. A line has been drawn. There is no ‘other side’ when you’re talking about lesbian, gay and bisexual students.” Jennings does not limit his promotion of homosexuality in schools only to high schools or middle schools. He wrote the foreword for a book titled Queering Elementary Education, which includes an essay declaring that “‘queerly raised’ children are agents” using “strategies of adaptation, negotiation, resistance, and subversion.”

Please take time to understand the above. If someone in "authority" in any school, believes that a child is "confused" about his/her sexual identity, Jennings believes the child must be identified as "gay." I am appalled. What business does a school have in categorizing my child? I'm more than appalled, I'm terrified. I'm not sure I understand the second paragraph and that "gueerly raised children are agents." If you have thoughts about that, please share them in comments or send an email.

Now about Brewster. First, FOX News claims it has an audiotape of Jennings describing some of what you will read below - so, Jennings' admissions are not just in print - he "speaks it." Jennings actually encouraged the relationship between the 15-year-old and the "man." In a speech to the Iowa chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) [the source of the audiotape], the organization Jennings founded, Jennings told the story, and said he counseled the boy to "use a condom" when with the sexual predator older boyfriend. Kevin Jennings wrote a book, One Teacher in 10 and talks about the boy some more. He indicated that after talks with the boy, it was obvious that the student was feeling much better about his rapist boyfriend. Jennings did so well by the child that:

"he left my office with a smile on his face that I would see every time I saw him on the campus for the next two years, until he graduated."

This blog, The Boiled Frog, thinks Jennings did the right thing when he did not report the rape to authorities. The author's thinking is that Jennings would have "outed" the boy, subjecting him to "some very embarrassing questions..., and besides, age of consent in Massachusetts is 16. It's not that easy or simple. The bottom line is the boy was underage. He was not 16. Massachusetts Law Chapter 272, Section 4A says:

Chapter 272: Section 4. Inducing person under eighteen to have sexual intercourse

Section 4. Whoever induces any person under 18 years of age of chaste life to have unlawful sexual intercourse shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years or in a jail or house of correction for not more than two and one-half years or by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by both such fine and imprisonment.

And this:

Chapter 265: Section 23. Rape and abuse of child Section 23. Whoever unlawfully has sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse, and abuses a child under sixteen years of age shall, for the first offense, be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any term of years, or, except as otherwise provided, for any term in a jail or house of correction, and for the second or subsequent offense by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any term of years, but not less than five years; provided, however, that a prosecution commenced under the provisions of this section shall not be placed on file or continued without a finding.

Interestingly, the above changed less than a year ago, making a first offense, or multiple offenses, sentenced under the same guidelines. In this case, Kevin Jennings clearly abused the boy himself.

In June 2009, Warren Throckmorton, who identifies himself as an "Associate Professor Psychology at Grove City College and Fellow for Psychology and Public Policy at the Center for Vision and Values, has a link to his 2005 paper, Remembering Brewster. The link takes the reader to a pdf. In it, Mr. Throckmorton quotes some passages from Jennings book and Jennings' 2000 retelling of the story to the GLSEN audience.

In Jennings' own words, in his book, he recounts his first meeting with Brewster as a sophomore in 1987. Brewster comes to Jennings' office but can't seem to tell his story. Jennings says "On a hunch, I suddenly asked "What's his name?" Brewster then tells Jennings about meeting an older man in Boston and his involvement with the man. This is important, because Throckmorton also tells of the Chair of the NEA Republican Educator's Caucus being threatened by Jennings' attorney. She was to retract comments she made to the NEA president about Brewster and Jennings' failure to report the pedophilia, - or...GLSEN would pursue "other remedies."

Jennings, through his attorneys, among other defense statements, said (1) Brewster was 16-years-of-age at the time they talked, and (2) Jennings did not know of the boy's "relationship with an older man."

The first is in conflict with his GLSEN speech, and the second in direct conflict with his book. According to Throckmorton, the Caucus Chair did not retract her statements, and GLSEN did not sue.

There is a lot of information and analysis on Warren Throckmorton's site. Read it all here.

You've probably heard that Jennings has talked about his drug use, and his hostile feelings toward Christianity. You can read his direct quotes here. We can ask what in the world the Education Secretary is thinking with this appointment, but...she appointed him.