It’s only because Abhi doesn’t pay us I don’t have the time that I haven’t taken myself down to Manhattan Supreme Court to check out on your behalf, gentle reader, the ongoing circus that is generating press clips of this nature:
A city cop who testified he was seduced at age 13 by his East Side Montessori school principal suffered a figurative beating by the same headmistress in court yesterday. …
“Did that involve any noise?” Shargel asked. “Noises that are often attendant to the act of making love?” The cop answered, “The TV would be on loud.”
Backstory and Desi Angle (TM): Well, you see, the Montessori school principal in question is desi. Name of Lina Sinha, age 40. The alleged events took place about ten years ago. It seems something went down between the two, but just what, and how illegal, and whether it can be proved, is up in the air. He says she raped him when he was underage. She says they had an affair after he turned 17, which ended badly; that she had accused him of beating her and he, fearing this would lose him his job with the NYPD, turned around and accused her of rape.
Additional elements of note: Steven Soderbergh was almost a juror in the case. Too bad he didn’t make the final cut – there’s sex here for sure, and lies somewhere, and all we need is the videotape. Second element of note: Sinha’s attorney is Gerald Shargel, who is best known for defending mobsters. Damn! Maybe I will make it down to the court after all. The whole scene sounds classic.
Get your fix with these stories from the first day of the trial last week (Daily News flava; New York Post flava with photo of Sinha — go on, you know you want to; New York Times flava), and these updates. Looks like Shargel’s scoring some points, which is why he gets paid the big bucks. We’ll try and keep an eye on this tawdriness for you as the trial continues.
Wow, when real life is juicier than fiction. While I always love a good sex story, this one gives me the icks. If her version of the story is true, she still had the hots for a 17 year old while she was in her 30’s. What’s sexy about a 17 year old to a 30-something woman? Nast-o-rama.
siddharta. you mean to tell me you write these blogs on SM for free? i’ll get you a lawyer, it’s totally illegal what abhi is doing.
Aye dios mio I know this woman!!
Jane, welcome back. You might be SM’s very own Kevin Bacon.
Thanx errrr I know I’m supposed to know what that means. Splain yourself Lucy!
See Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon on wiki.
JOAT,
Seriously? You know this woman? Did you have any idea? And of course, is she an AILF?
Siddhartha, I always knew you secretly write headlines for the NYPost. But I guess they haven’t invited you to join the editorial board yet.
OMG that’s funny. I’d never heard of that before. People in NYC are a lot more incestuous than they’d let other’s believe.
I don’t know her that well. We have friends in common. Emails have gone out. From what I know she’s very pleasant and of course no one wants to believe someone like that is capable of doing something she’s being accused of. Last year I found out a neighbor was screwing his MIL while they were living together. Eeek who the hell know. The MIL wasn’t even remotely in the “hot” category. It freaked me out.
I am seriously, amazingly and embarrasingly excellent at this game. I once connected Vivien Leigh to Kevin Bacon in six steps. Niiice.
A woman in her early 30s and a 17 year old boy/man would each be at their sexual peak, that’s what.
What’s sexy about a 17 year old to a 30-something woman? Nast-o-rama.
17 and 33? Are you for reals with your incredulity? Please.
This is so “Notes on a Scandal.” What’s the age of consent in New York State? 16?
17 and 33? Are you for reals with your incredulity? Please.
Hells yes I am.
A woman in her early 30s and a 17 year old boy/man would each be at their sexual peak, that’s what.
I think that’s a bunch of hogwash. Too many women are taught that sex is dirty and to not be interested in it. Many women have a sexual awakening in their 30’s, feeling comfortable with their bodies and sex. Unfortunately, it can take a woman many years after puberty to find her “O.†No reason to go sex crazy if you aren’t O’ing.
A woman in her early 30s and a 17 year old boy/man would each be at their sexual peak, that’s what.
I think that’s a bunch of hogwash. Too many women are taught that sex is dirty and to not be interested in it. Many women have a sexual awakening in their 30’s, feeling comfortable with their bodies and sex. Unfortunately, it can take a woman many years after puberty to find her “O.” No reason to go sex crazy if you aren’t O’ing.
**No idea why my previous comment looks crazy.
actually bengali chick, biology supports the age theory you seem so shocked by. women in their late 20’s/early 30’s have the strongest urges to have babies and reproduce, while men in their late teens/early 20’s are at their (for lack of a better word) horniest.
not saying this justifies the sexual abuse that supposedly went down in this case, though.
And if you want overly detailed, somewhat disgusting details on how to do this, go here. Guaranteed to induce vomit 🙂
Thanks Mr. Science. According to my OBGYN and what I’ve read a women’s fertility starts decreasing in the late 20’s, as women are most fertile between 17-25. It would make sense to me that sex drive would be at its peak during the more fertile period. Just my 2 cents.
Woah there tiger, take it easy!
Sorry, no offense directed, I did not know it was your diary. Sorry. It is nice.
Actually fertility peak has zero to do with psychological peak. Just because biology tells us we should be having babies at 17 doesn’t mean we do because at 17 a human being isn’t psycholgically equipped to deal with the baby. A man’s peak comes from purely the desire to have sex hence it starting at puberty. A woman’s peak comes from having realized and needing good sex and from hormone fluctuations as well.
I honestly don’t find anything unsual about a woman in her 30s getting it on with a 17 year old because the supply and demand equation seems to be the most balanced in terms of sexuality alone with the combination. Not saying I condone it but I’m not shocked. I know too many men who’ve lost their virginity to older more experienced women when they were mere boys.
The smiley face makes that attack oh-so-much better, too!
Someone’s in need of a hug or a whack with a paddle, choose your poison. I can deliver both. Play nice.
Wait, you mean it’s going to get worse?!
😉
Unless we start shagging with the
kiddiesyoung men (18 + of course) 😉Who’s that guy in the pic with all the moves? Please don’t say her boyfriend…
Jane, I apologized. Please don’t take your frustration over your mother’s impending doom out on me. Thank you.
Radhika:
There is no need for this kind of nsensitivity. It is uncalled for.
*insensitivity
at 17 a human being isn’t psycholgically equipped to deal with the baby
Joat: not meaning to be petty or take this off topic, but don’t you think a couple thousand years of human history probably refute this relatively recent idea?
Back to the idea of a 17y/o with a 33y/o… I’m not saying it’s my taste, it’s just that I hardly find it surprising or hard to believe. “Nasty” seemed to be a bit of an extreme way to put it. But Michael Douglas and Catherine Z-J: now that’s nast-o-rama.
This could make the story for one of RGV’s movies ….. In other seemingly unrelated news, the Shiv Sena/BJP/RSS are preparing for protests and chaddi dances on the pretext that this story corrupts Indian culture.
I agree with Bengali Chick- women’s fertility is in a decline after their early twenties. I actually read somewhere that 23 is the most reproductively-successful age. But while sexual desire closely follows fertility, it is not the same thing. Anyways, as I keep on reading the posts a quotation I once read sprung to mind. Philip Roth, when asked about the overwhelming sucess of his bawdy, prurient novel Portnoy’s complaint, said “The vulgarity of the people astounds me”.
Isn’t this a story about sexual harassment?
Only if you want it to be Preston
LOL you must be a new idiot I haven’t become familiar with. Thanx for the heads up.
History doesn’t make evolution null and void and really female sexual revolution is a fairly new concept to human history. Where’s Razib when you need him?
Yes and as usual Preston we are debating on tangents 🙂
For some reason I don’t beleive this story. I think there are newspeople out there that will fabricate stories, seems like this one was fabricated.
But if it is true then it is dissapointing that a Desi could be this stupid.
“…it is dissapointing that a Desi could be this stupid”
you’ve gotta be kidding me…
Well… the Internet is full of “B4r3ly L3g4l T33nz” pr0n for guys… and many gays have a similar “twink” fixation. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander?
lurvs, I’m with JOAT – the age doesn’t skeeze me out at all if its 30 – 17. What does skeeze me out is the power abuse in the situation – if he was still her student, there’s a highly sketchy dynamic. If otoh he was no longer her student. . . and all was legal. . . who cares?
If she did indeed rape him when he was 13, it is despicable.
A female attains puberty much before a male does. I would say a woman is sexiest between 18~30 and from what I have seen around, women find 40+ men sexier coz they are more mature, reliable and well-off (financially and emotionally).
Get real my dear friend. Which rule says Indian women don’t/should not falter?
How long before we see a Bollywood version of this?? Although, it’d be even more palatable to the audience if she was from India, moved to the US, was “corrupted” by her student, he came onto her, and then turned around and accused her.
Wait, where’s my pen?
This reminds me of the case where the really attractive blond school teacher from Florida (?) had an affair with some 14 year old boy (don’t remember the name of the teacher but I think you guys know what I’m talking about). While of course it was wrong and irresponsible on her part (not to mention illegal), and of course if I was the 14 year old boy’s parents I’d be furious, but the fact remains…that was one lucky 14 year old boy…
Age 13 – eww, they’ve barely hit adolescence at that point. I understand and support the desire to protect children from predatory adults in positions of power, but it’s the coercion element that’s key to the ick factor here, not the sexual one. You think 17 year olds aren’t having sex?
Isn’t it funny that older man-younger woman relationships are considered absolutely standard (e.g. that Nishabd movie that’s making a splash) but the reverse creeps people out? Actually I’d think the 17 year old male and older woman situation would be a lot more common, because it’s classic schoolboy fantasy (and I know enough fellows who have had that experience) and because for a lot of women the age equation puts them in a position of control (the knowing, older, sophisticate with younger and more teachable partner) that can be a turn-on.
Come on, fellow women, haven’t we all leered at the hot young stud in our time? Who here is impervious to the charms of an Irfan Pathan, for example?
common sense dictates:
this just feels right to me.
Thanx for laying it out for us Manju. Now do you have a set of rules for mental ages? 🙂
Van Halen had a ditty about this some years ago…
Consent should not be determined by age but should be dependant on either economic independance or parental consent. If you can live on your own with your own money, you should have the right to consent even if you are five years old. If you don’t then you need to cede your right to consent to whoever is providing you room and board.
M. Nam
PS: LOL @ Manju’s comment #45 – point #5
Some of you guys are trivializing a serious issue here. I don’t know what happened in the Lina Sinha case, but in general, a teenager of either gender subject to sexual advances from a teacher is someone being exploited thanks to a power relationship. “Hot for teacher” fantasies are great and all, but only when they remain just that, fantasies. One can fantasize about a lot of things that aren’t all that pleasant or happy in real life. I just hope that if you ever have a male teenager child or friend or relative who confides in you that he is being sexually exploited by a female teacher, you will respond with the same degree of seriousness that you would if the genders were reversed, or if the male student was being exploited by a male teacher. If not, shame on you.
Great. So if a 5 year old’s parents say it’s okay for his teacher to molest him, you’re alright with that? Or if they parents want to beat him up themselves, that’s okay too?