Heather Michelle Cooksey, Tioga, Louisiana (arrested Dec 2012)

Whoever posted the address should be ashamed of themselves!!

Actually, all sex offenders have their addresses posted for public knowledge. Plus, the NEWSPAPER posted it and the local news also were obligated to state it on television.

It's just going to be part of her life forever. I just feel bad for her husband and young children. What she did was seriously disgusting.

In TENN it goes by your income and family name in other words if your family is a respected name and your wealth is high then you don't go into the media or sexual registry.Not fair but that's how it works in TENN.

Are you serious? She should learn to keep her big girl panties on. Since she is a hoe, we may as well provide her place of employment. I know her husband must be embarrassed....the laughing stock of town. But he should have know you can't turn a hoe into a housewife.

Your stupidity is appalling. Her husband is a great man so you should keep your stupid opinions of him & the innocent children involved to yourself! I think it's funny how people who don't even know the parties involved think they know so much!

With regard to the address posting: Keep in mind that a person is considered innocent until proven guilty. Remember, there have been plenty of cases, some reported on this site, where false accusations were made in order to get back at a teacher. If that turns out to be the case here, posting her address just makes it that much harder for her to put her life back together after some vindictive son of a bitch teenager with no sense of shame decides that he can destroy it simply because he failed a test. Of course, if she is proven guilty, she should be exposed like the predator she is.

I can understand your concern, but I doubt you'd actually prefer the alternative. The alternative would be a reality where, on a regular basis, arrests are made, trials conducted, guilt/innocence determined, and consequences meted out behind the closed doors of government. I'm not in favor of people disappearing silently at the hands of government with no public records required.

The issue here is simply the ease with which public information is disseminated. As has already been mentioned, address information was already broadcast by television and print media news sources. Other sources, like this internet site, simply repeat already published information. Is this embarrassing for the alleged perpetrators? How could it not be? Is it dangerous for the alleged perpetrators? I can certainly imagine that it could be. But, in my humble opinion, embarrassment and the small possibility of vigilante justice are not sufficient enough concerns to warrant sealed records for every potentially embarrassing arrest. I can hear every lawyer for every alleged crime, 'Your honor, we're requesting that all records be sealed.' The judge: 'on what grounds?' The lawyer: 'because the arrest is embarrassing to my client.' ... Really??? What allegation wouldn't be embarrassing?

Note that I wouldn't wish a false accusation on anybody. Getting wrongly tied up and dragged through the legal system is scary, expensive, embarrassing, painful, and alters one's life forever. So I wouldn't wish false accusations on anyone. And, certainly, Mrs. Cooksey deserves and should expect due process.

The sad part is that, in all likelihood, the allegations are true. I've been watching these cases for a long time now and they overwhelmingly lead to convictions (accepting a plea is a conviction, by the way). It's the rare case where it is determined that the allegations are false and everyone is actually satisfied that the adult was simply being abused by the alleged victim or prosecuted by an over zealous legal system; it happens, but it's very rare.

So at the end of the day, unfortunately, what Mrs. Cooksey is accused of in all likelihood happened. And, it's a fact, that arrests and allegations produce a certain amount of public information. And that public information can and will be spread wide especially for sensational cases such as teacher/student sexual abuse. That's simply a fact, and it is as it should be. Her embarrassment, while understandable, is not the overriding concern. And if she really did do this, then she brought on all the embarrassment, pain, and shame to not only herself, but all of those that loved her most. Time will tell if she's exonerated or not, but I wouldn't count on that happening.

I know we don't know each other and you probably couldn't care less, but if you're sucked into this mess as well, I sincerely feel bad for you...

Sorry, but if is the case of a 27 YO female & a 17 YO male... it may violate School Policy, and may cost her her job, and her marrriage.....BUT... it is a much further stretch to call this a "crime" or label her as a Predator. TO be a Crime, there must be a victim... and it's a big reach to regard that 17YO male as a "victim" to anything, in fact, quite the opposite. The young man has bragging rights for life amongst his friends, and will be with him for life...and likely gave this kid the confidence boost that he would need to be very successful. Violation of school policy and marital vows? Yes, absolutely? Cougar? But sexual predator or criminal? Not seein' the "crime" or a victim of a crime here. Now, if it were a 27YO male & 17 YO female... then a closer look at the circumstances, age of consent, etc need to be weighed in....and those terms might apply. But, Older female teacher & teen male student? Bad judgment, not criminal.

Presuming the allegations are true:

Don't know if she's a 'predator' or not--that depends on her behavior during the course of this activity and/or whether or not she has or is involved with other kids/students. I don't know anything about that.

The kid is considered to be the victim whether he consented or not. In all likelihood, Louisiana law is written in such a way where he legally can't consent simply because of their age difference. But in addition to that, regardless of the age difference, this is a teacher/student relationship rather than a 'we met at the mall and now we hang out together--we're in love...' kinda thing. And while this activity may be your fantasy, it is a crime whether you believe it or not. If you think the laws should be changed, then take action to make it so. Good luck with that.

By far, most parents don't want to send their kids to school and have to worry about whether or not Johnny/Mindy will come home one day and announce that he/she is going to be a Dad/Mom. And most parents won't approve of paying for/providing an environment where their hormone fueled kids become the sexual and/or relationship fodder of supposedly professional faculty; especially when their kid's grades/scholarships/emotional health is involved. And most parents want to have their kids in a classrooms where teachers are focused on teaching rather than how hot Timmy is and how miserable she is at home. And most adults are aware of 'the fox guarding the hen house' inequities if we're to have every school district's school board be the ultimate judge/arbiter of such cases rather than the law.

Teachers should just effen teach, and keep their personal lives/woes out of their classrooms. And it is a crime in every state I know of to ignore that mandate. Courts are busy enough, they're not going to get into asking kids how hurt or thrilled they are by the activity. The courts don't care about that, the law doesn't care about that, and intelligent adults don't care about that either. And seventeen year old kids don't have any idea how they're going to feel about things when they're 30--they're still growing up whether you want to admit it or not. And, at the end of the day, Johnny and Mindy can grow up just fine without hands-on sexual education from the staff.

You completely minimize the possibility of potential long term damage if we presume that every male kid that becomes the target or gets involved with a female teacher walks away completely unscathed. You're also forgetting about the parents responsibilities and the unwanted adult interference regarding their parental role/responsibility in the kid growing up. You're also minimizing the effect on the husband--not that that's relevant since it's a crime whether the teacher is married or not--and her kids. You're willing to let a lot of for sure damage happen to fulfill a few male kids fantasies under the presumption that no male kid could ever be sexually abused. You seem incredibly naive to me. Sorry.

"Now, if it were a 27YO male & 17 YO female... then a closer look at the circumstances, age of consent, etc need to be weighed in....and those terms might apply. But, Older female teacher & teen male student? Bad judgment, not criminal."

JPC- Are you kidding me?? What is the difference?? Are you saying that 17 YO females do not have their wits about them enough to make that decision? Your ignorance is unbelievable!! It is people like you that make this whole teacher/student relationship "double standard" a reality. I have posted a few times about the double standard in our judicial system. If a man does a crime like the one you commented on, he does no less than 5 years, while a woman who does the crime gets off with probation and not even a registry as a sex offender! How do you justify your ignorant statement??