Lesbian Teacher, Suspected Sex Offender, Uses Post to Indoctrinate Students, Parent Says
by Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
February 24, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A lesbian teacher who helped lead a controversial pro-homosexual seminar at the North Carolina Governor's School last year is being investigated for alleged sexual misconduct with a student.
Social studies teacher Susan Wiseman was suspended from East Forsyth High School without pay recently after allegations arose of her having had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student. A local district judge recently revoked a gag order that had prevented Forsyth County officials from notifying parents of the identity of the suspected sex offender.
Wiseman, a youth coordinator for the Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) of Winston-Salem, has been under investigation both by police and the school system for the incidents that allegedly took place some time between February and May of last year. However, according to a Winston-Salem Journal report, the teenage victim in the case has, along with family members, chosen not to press charges. Therefore, District Attorney Tom Keith announced yesterday that no criminal charges will be brought against Wiseman.
With a victim unwilling to cooperate with prosecution and in the absence of corroborating evidence, Keith stated that his office had "closed the matter." However, the matter is not closed as far as officials with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools are concerned. Wiseman remains on suspension without pay, and Superintendent Don Martin says D.A. Keith 's decision will not affect the school system.
Martin told the Journal that the police's inquiry and the school system's are "two separate investigations" and "employment and criminal matters are two separate things." He hopes to finish the district's investigation and have a recommendation ready for school board members before he talks to them about the case, which could happen as early as the March 14 school board meeting.
Although firing Wiseman would require a vote by the school board, Martin would not need board approval if he decides to end the teacher's suspension and allow her to return to her post at East Forsyth High School. However, at least one parent in the community feels strongly that, regardless of the outcome of the investigation, the lesbian teacher is a dangerous influence in the classroom.
Last summer, Wiseman co-led a seminar at the North Carolina Governor's School called "The New Gay Teenager." Jim Burrows, whose son attended the pro-homosexual seminar, believes it is clear the lesbian instructor is bent on indoctrinating young people with a favorable view of the homosexual lifestyle.
"This was an agenda that she had," Burrows contends, "and she just basically took advantage of the situation that she was in to promote her agenda." He says the lesbian instructor's "New Gay Teenager" course influenced his son to question his sexuality and also to question Bible passages condemning homosexuality.
And the concerned father has reason to believe the seminar that led to his son's experience was "obviously was not a one-time deal," he contends. "Actually, we have had several other parents with kids who went to Governor's School in past years that have told us that this went on there too," he says. "In fact, this has been going on at Governor's school for many years."
Burrows believes Wiseman and other instructors at the North Carolina Governor's School are committed to promoting homosexuality to children. For him, recent events have simply reinforced his suspicions about the lesbian teacher having a pro-homosexual agenda and being willing to use her position as an educator to carry it out.
