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Indecent Seduction (1996)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 5/22

InSed
5/22: Indecent Seduction, which is otherwise known as For My Daughter's Honor, may be a telefilm, but it scores 100% in believability.

The only national story I knew of the student-teacher relationship during the 90's was from the state of Washington. It was disturbing news, but now, this sort of thing is a daily occurrence. It has a lot to do with the schools hiring credentialed teachers of low caliber because the best ones refuse to put up with the abusive working conditions and have opted for a different profession.

As for the movie, the genders may be reversed, but the result is still the same. The performances are generally fine, but it's Gary Cole who stands out the most as Coach Nash. I've had such teachers like him: friendly, handsome, and stand-up; in other words, they were popular because of their approach, but it didn't mean they were sex predators, just role models.

Hence, I can see Coach Nash taking advantage all of his perfect qualities to exploit female students. He also has a technique that's honed to perfection. It's the way he talks, using certain words, to get Amy Dustin to come around; eventually, she takes the bait, and the rest of the way is a hole she can't get out of. So, Amy has two choices: keep going or tell someone. I can see how she might be embarrassed by all of this. Then again, she's only 14, a kid who doesn't know any better and is merely confused.

If there's a negative to point out, I wish Amy wasn't a freshman; making her a junior or a senior is more believable given how old-looking Nicholle Tom is. Then again, the real victim was a freshman. Sometimes, it's unbelievable how brazen Coach Nash behaved in public with Amy and her friends. Witnessing any part of it is enough to call the authorities. Speaking of that, the principal should be held criminally responsible for failing to report the teacher's inappropriate behavior, and he had several chances but didn't do anything.

Interestingly enough, as sports is an underlying theme to all of this drama in an Oklahoma small community, the actor who plays Amy's father is Mac Davis. He's well known for North Dallas Forty. For a father, he's weak when it comes to handling the situation. His wife is a bit better, but she's weak, too. They should've put their daughter first, not the community or football.

All in all, accurate for the most part, Indecent Seduction is based on what happened in Taylor, Texas, during 1986-87, and the teacher-coach's name was Jesse Lynn Stroud, who now lives in Holland, Texas, as a registered sex offender for life, while the principal (Eddy Lankford) and the superintendent (Mike Caplinger) repeatedly looked the other way; the following link is the full story: The Seduction of Jane Doe.