I have written it previously: when I see a story in the credentialed media about the sexual abuse of a minor, if it is written in a manner to obscure the sex of the victim, “I suspect that the abuse was homosexual in nature.” Now, fresh on the heels of our stories about April Bradford’s sexual abuse of two female middle and high school students, this one appeared in my media feed, from the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Teacher sexually abused student for years, including in her classroom, Iowa cops say

By Mike Stunson | Wednesday, February 21, 2024 | 4:53 PM CST

A teacher faces sexual abuse charges following a yearslong “inappropriate sexual relationship” with a student, Iowa police say.

Rachel Whiteside, via Iowa News Now

Rachel Whiteside, a 34-year-old teacher and coach with the Ankeny Community School District, turned herself in Wednesday, Feb. 21, according to the city of Ankeny. She is charged with third-degree child abuse, four counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee, and lascivious conduct with a minor.

Authorities learned in January of the incidents involving Whiteside when the victim came forward to the Ankeny School District, officials said.

The victim reported being in ninth grade when the abuse began, KCCI reported, citing court documents. The victim was 14 years old at the time.

Police said the “sexual conduct” continued for years while the student attended the Ankeny Community School District between 2015 and 2018. The incidents continued until the victim was 23, according to the Des Moines Register.

There’s more at the original. Neither the Lexington Herald-Leader, where I first saw the story on Sunday morning, nor the Kansas City Star, another McClatchy newspaper, had the mugshot of the accused, even though it was available in several places. The Des Moines Register, a Gannett newspaper which Mike Stunson’s article cites, also failed to include Miss Whiteside’s photo.

Why was I interested at all? As I stated, when I don’t see any references to the victim’s sex, I always assume that it was homosexual in nature, and I wanted to confirm my suspicion. And yup, Mr Stunson’s article was written in a manner in which the victim’s sex was carefully concealed.

But The Des Moines Register let it slip, just barely, and just once, in the seventh paragraph down:

She (Miss Whiteside) also kept photographs of the victim in her classroom, and had kept a note written by the victim when she was a student in middle or high school in her desk drawer, according to court documents.

Emphasis mine.

Mr Stunson referenced the Des Moines Register article in his original, which included that reference to the victim’s sex, so, unless he’s a sloppy reader — something which is always a possibility — he knew that the victim was female, and wrote his article in a manner deliberately to conceal it.

But there’s more. Iowa News Now reported, in a reference which was easily found by a Google search of Rachel Whiteside, part of the victim’s statement to law enforcement:

As a minor, I was confused about my sexuality and wasn’t sure about my own identity. Rachel Whiteside groomed me and abused me. It wasn’t until just before I turned 23 that I broke ties with her.

Did Mr Stunson not do any more research? Does he believe that people wouldn’t be asking that question? Of course, to be fair, he could well be following the directives of his editors?

It is the Accepted Wisdom of our good friends on the left that homosexuality has nothing to do with the sexual abuse of minors, nothing at all, but it certainly seems that a much greater incidence of such reported crimes are homosexual in nature than the prevalence of homosexuals in our society. I suppose that we weren’t supposed to notice that.