Teacher Has Sex With Adult, Gets Fired

There have been quite a few stories brewing lately over teachers getting fired over inappropriate activity – outside the classroom. Last week, for instance, we wrote about a British teacher in hot water over stealing a friend’s baby photos from Facebook and then tricking her ex into believing that the child is hers – and that he‘s the father (oy!). And earlier this month, there was the case of a Chicago teacher who got arrested for using his iPhone to snap photos underneath a woman’s skirt at an outdoor festival.

The latest story making headlines isn’t quite as scandalous. In fact, it’s not scandalous at all. Natalie Santagata, a fifth-grade teacher in Port Charlotte, Florida, lost her job when school administrators and parents were anonymously sent images and videos of her having sex with a consenting adult. The Herald-Tribune reports that 35-year-old Santagata, who worked at Kingsway Elementary School since 2002, is depicted in “various compromising acts” and that she “knew she was being filmed.”

Not surprisingly, there’s a huge debate over whether or not Santagata deserved to be fired. On one side of the debate are those who believe that she did nothing wrong; in fact, they claim that she is the victim and that the anonymous sender is who we should be targeting here. On the other side are those who believe that she’s a teacher and should follow a certain code of conduct even outside the school walls.

Personally, I fell badly for Santagata. Was it wise of her to appear in a sex video knowing that it could one day make the rounds? No. But it’s also not wise for lawyers to smoke pot or pediatricians to appear in casual-sex classifieds (remember that happened once on Private Practice)? The point is that it happens all the time, and that even “professionals” have lives outside of their careers. This woman did nothing but have consensual sex. It’s just too bad she agreed to press play on that video camera…

(Photo: Tony Wear/Shutterstock)