Philadelphia Gay News Vol. 33 No. 6
Honesty Integrity Professionalism
Feb. 6 - 12, 2009
Teacher arrested for relationship with student
Budget cuts could bring festival woes By Jen Colletta PGN Staff Writer
By Jen Colletta PGN Staff Writer A suburban high-school teacher was arrested last week after he admitted to carrying on an affair with an underage male student. Curtis Harold Key, 38, turned himself in to Haverford police Jan. 29 and is charged with one count of corruption of a minor, a misdemeanor charge. Pennsylvania’s statutory-rape law applies only to minors under age 16; the student was 16 at the time of the relationship. If convicted, Key could face up to five years in prison and/or a fine of $10,000, although Delaware County Deputy District Attorney Michael Galantino said a judge could lessen the penalties because Key has no prior arrests. The former language teacher from Haverford High School resigned from his teaching position in December after the Haverford S c h o o l District and police began an investigation into his relationship with a 16year-old CURTIS HOWARD KEY student. AFTER HIS JAN. 29 During ARRAIGNMENT i n t e r v i e w s Photo: Alejandro A. Alverez/ with police his Philadelphia Daily News before arrest, Key said that while he knew his relationship with the boy was wrong, he “fell for” him. Key and the student allegedly began a relationship after spending time together during an after-school Chinese club that Key moderated. According to the affidavit of probable cause, the student, who has since turned 17, told Key that he “had feelings” for him in early October, the teacher concurred, and the two began exchanging messages via online networking site Facebook. On Oct. 17, Key walked the student to his car after both attended a music event after school, and the two kissed. They See TEACHER, Page 7
spouses do not face, and foreign-born samesex partners also face visa complications if they wish to return to the United States with the FSO. In their letter, Baldwin and her colleagues requested that Clinton rectify these disparities and suggested that the inclusion of same-sex partners as eligible family members could be a viable solution to the problem. “The lack of equitable treatment could force dedicated, intelligent and needed FSOs and officials to make an unfortunate choice between serving their country and protecting their families,” the letter stated, referencing former U.S. Ambassador to Romania Michael Guest, who resigned last year because of the employment issues he and his partner faced. Baldwin and her fellow lawmakers said that the employment disparities “should not be the reason why highly qualified employees leave the State Department at a time when their service is needed more than ever.” “Many other nations now extend training, protection and benefits to the partners of LGBT employees,” the letter went on to say. “Further, the State Department’s past inattention to these disparities places it below parity with the best employment practices used in the private sector, where the majority of Fortune 500 companies extend employee benefit programs to cover the domestic partners. Without remedying these inequities,
With more budget cuts expected following Mayor Nutter’s announcement last month that the city’s five-year deficit could reach $2 billion, local LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations are feeling the effects of the city’s financial crisis. The original round of budget cuts, introduced in November, contained a provision that will impact organizers of city festivals, such as the several LGBT-oriented events held throughout the next few months. The initial budget cuts stipulated that organizers of outdoor events would be required to reimburse the city for “collection and cleaning associated with major special events,” which the plan describes could cut city costs by about $175,000. The budget also specified that the city would seek reimbursement for police overtime for special events. Luke Butler, spokesperson for the mayor’s press office, confirmed last month that the city would collect these fees from organizers of all outdoor city events, although he was unsure how much these services would cost. Karla Sainz, spokesperson for the Council of Spanish-Speaking Organizations Inc. (El Concilio), said the city informed her organization of the new regulations when the group’s business manager began the process of applying for permits for El Concilio’s numerous outdoor events, such as the Hispanic Fiesta in July and the Puerto Rican Parade in September. “We have had to consider cutting the event short, reducing the timespan, so we can afford to pay for these things or having to raise the amount of money that we charge people who participate in the parade, which is not something we want to do,” Sainz said. “We’re considering what options we have, but having to pay for police and trash collection is a big, big obstacle for us right now.” Sainz said El Concilio is still working with the city to determine how much the new provisions will cost the organization. Franny Price, president of Philly Pride Presents, which stages June’s Pride celebration at Penn’s Landing and October’s OutFest in the Gayborhood, said she has not been in contact with the city about the issue yet, but that she’s not concerned about trash collection, as the organization does not enlist city assistance for cleanup because the
See BALDWIN, Page 7
See BUDGET CUTS, Page 8
GAY GOURMET: Eric Matzke (standing) of City Food Tours passes around a cheese plate to David (from left), Ed, Gus and Kevin at Di Bruno Bros. Feb. 1. The Rittenhouse restaurant was a stop on the “Gay Gourmet OUT-ings” food tour, which also took attendees to PHAG and Valanni and served as a fundraiser for the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Baldwin asks Clinton to follow through on State Dept. pledge By Jen Colletta PGN Staff Writer Openly gay U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (DWisc.) called on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week to make good on her pledge to review the Department of State’s LGBT policies. Baldwin, along with Rep. Ileana RosLehtinen (R-Fla.) and Sens. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), issued a letter to Clinton Feb. 2 requesting that she take action to address widespread inequities faced by State Department employees and their partners. Currently, the same-sex partners of Foreign Service Officers are considered members of household, not eligible family members, as are opposite-sex married partners. The distinction in status bars same-sex partners from accessing many of the rights afforded heterosexual FSOs and their spouses. Same-sex partners currently don’t have equal access to the language-training and other educational classes the department offers the spouses of heterosexual FSOs, nor are they given the same preferential treatment for overseas employment. They are also not included in the FSOs’ travel orders, are not part of emergency-evacuation plans and do not have access to certain healthcare options. Same-sex partners additionally have to overcome obstacles in obtaining visas to accompany FSOs overseas that heterosexual