Call for Comment: Is 186 Years an Appropriate Penalty for a Teacher Charged with Sex with a Student?

When we reported about the 186 year prison sentence facing a 43-year-old with a 17-year-old former student and current Marion boy, readers sounded off.

The unnamed boy was 16 when the alleged relationship began.

Many spoke of the sexual urges of teenage boys, the innapropriate nature of the relationship, whether the alleged relationship should be considered rape and whether a 186-year jail sentence facing Shannon Cardinal, of Wisconsin, is unfair.

At the bottom in the comment section, tell us what you think.

Here's what readers had to say:

Patch user Patrick Rodgers:

"Older women have sought out younger men since the start of time, just as many men prefer younger women. This is of course no excuse for dipping below the legal age barriers and especially when violating the trust between teacher and student. It will be interesting to see in this case if the alleged victim will actually get on the stand and testify against his lover. If he refuses, the D.A. may have trouble making the case.

Patch user Alex Watson:

"How is it that this woman faces up to 186 years in prison when people murder each other and do things 10 times worse than this and get 10-20 years? Quite the justice."

Patch user Steve Steiberg:

"Yes, he is a young man but the point here is that this woman was in a position of authority over this student, similar to an employer-employee relationship. Besides, teachers should not be trolling the student population for intimacy, in my opinion."