41-Year-Old Computer Teacher Quits Job, Leaves Wife and Children to Move in With His 18-Year-Old Former Student

41-Year-Old Computer Teacher Quits Job, Leaves Wife and Children to Move in With His 18-Year-Old Former Student

James Hooker, business and IT teacher at James Enochs High School at Modesto CA decided to resign, leave his wife and three children for a former student, Jordan Powers. Now his girlfriend, Powers attended Enochs High with one of the teacher’s children, a 17-year-old girl. As their relationship became public and the scandal enraged the community, the girl’s mother started a crusade to save Jordan from a man she calls a "master manipulator." Tammie Powers launched an official police investigation to find out if something inappropriate or illegal took place prior to her daughter turning 18.

Hooker says that Powers was "just a student" and he had no romantic feelings toward her at first. At her most recent birthday things changed. Tammie is convinced otherwise, citing a photo of her daughter on the teacher’s lap, and the 8,000 text messages exchanged between the two of them when she was still a minor, There were emails and late night phone calls. Other students at Enochs High believe that Hooker and Powers' relationship began earlier. "She was 14 when they first got together," one student said. "That's pretty disgusting; a guy like an old man would try and go with a really young girl."
Jordan, a fragile-seeming girl, looks closer to 15 than 18 years old, is now sharing an apartment with her 41-year-old former teacher, a man who she says is “more than just a lover, but a best friend as well.” The girl has stopped attending classes at Enochs High; she is doing independent study. Since she has lived with Hooker, her contact with her mother is limited...

Jordan's mother has started a public Facebook campaign against the relationship, calling Hooker a 'sicko' and a 'pervert'. Her profile includes posts with an image of him which is captioned:
“This is a picture of JAMES HOOKER from Enochs High School....a perverted man in his forties, who has taken advantage of a little girl. Now, James if you're reading this while you have my daughter----you better believe everyone will know you're a sick child molester....”
Powers claims her daughter's grades fell recently and she has started to have panic attacks “from the stress.”

A therapist who interviewed the couple, Bethany Marshall, told ABC: “They're both dropouts at this point. She's a dropout from school and he's a dropout from society. We used to have a diagnosis … called ‘shared paranoia,' ….that's when one person makes another person believe that the world is against them.

“When you make another person believe that the world is against both of you, you create a very powerful bond. This is what we see in cults. And this is what he's created with her.'

“James is pathologically immature. And this is what we see with teachers who have inappropriate relationships with their students. They imagine themselves to be age mates or peers with the students. Like most sex predators, he is identified age-wise with the victim. This is what you see with pedophilia, with offending patterns, with teachers who have sex with students. 'They always talk about the student as if they and the student are the exact same age. James does what sex offenders often do. He disavows culpability while doing the same actions he's saying he's not responsible for.”

When the therapist asked the teacher how he felt about abandoning his family, he accused her of being judgemental saying: “Love will overcome everything. love my children.
I love Jordan. I think that you're making … judgment calls. And I think that we'll prove you wrong.”

Bethany Marshall also told ABC that their relationship will likely last for a while, but eventually one of them will come to reality. Instead, Hooker and Powers insist their relationship will succeed because their love for each other is real. The future will prove who is right.

For information and tips on how to protect your children online, see Travis Morgan’s book titled “Catch Me If You Know How - Internet Edition” or visit the “Catch Me If You Know How” website at http://www.CatchMeIfYouKnowHow.com