Is a Colorado Teacher Who Had Sex with a Student Skirting Punishment?

This is a partial transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," January 3, 2007, that has been edited for clarity.

ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Welcome back to “Hannity & Colmes”. As we continue with our weeklong look into the teachers who are seducing underage children.

Twenty-nine-year-old Colorado teacher Carrie McCandless was arrested in November of 2006 for having a sexual affair with a 17-year-old student.

The social studies teacher allegedly had sexual contact with the boy while on an overnight school camping trip. McCandless, who also is the wife of the school principal, remains free on $20,000 bail while awaiting trial for sexual assault on a child.

Joining us now, reporter Chris Barge of Debra LaFave case and onwards?

BARGE: No. I have not become the teacher sex scandal reporter on a national level as of yet. Just been focused on this story outside of Denver.

HANNITY: Well, but there's certainly something to this, though.

BARGE: There seems to be a lot of them in the news.

HANNITY: There's certainly something. It's spectacular inasmuch as there is case after case after case. You don't find that worthy of some type of coverage? Why is this happening?

BARGE: Well, you're on the national scene. I charge you with that task.

HANNITY: All right. That's my job as the — well, that's actually part of what we're doing this week. It's only because, in each and every case — we even had a case we were doing on the program last night. And the judge in the case said that if this were a male teacher and a 17-year- old girl, that that male would be in jail. And, yet, these female teachers, it seems to be if you're attractive, you're blonde, if you're good looking and it's a girl versus — a female teacher — you get away with it. That seems to be.

BARGES: I will leave that — I'll leave that to the pundits to duke it out over, you know, the justice or lack thereof there.

But, yes, I think you do have definitely a whole lot of dynamics. You know, merely one of which is that, you know, when the roles are reversed, you know, it comes out different in the wash.

HANNITY: I think that's a pretty significant point here. I guess we'll be watching. When is it back in court, the 22nd or so?

BARGE: Let's see, everybody is in court this month. Yes, Carrie McCandless, the central person here, is back in court on the 22nd.

HANNITY: All right. We'll be watching.

COLMES: Chris, we thank you very much for joining us tonight.

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