That Kentucky porn teacher

All right, this isn't a news blog, it's a commentary blog; but at least I give sources for everything I comment on. I like to think that what I'm commenting on actually happened.

On May 4th (May the 4th Be With You!) I wrote that somebody discovered that Paducah, KY, school teacher, Tericka Dye, had been in an adult movie some years before her teaching career began. She was then suspended and her teaching contract will not be renewed. Just too much of a distraction to keep her employed there, said the administrators.

I received three separate anonymous comments about Ms. Dye. Anon. #1 wrote:

Actually in KY you do not receive tenure as a teacher until the end of the 4th year. She only had two years of teaching experience so there would be nothing KEA (teacher's union) could do. The school board or superintendent would not have to provide any reason for not rehiring her. I really doubt her political affiliation would have any influence on getting a job with this school system. The area is predominately Democrats but this is a very Conservative community. I personally feel sorry for her, I know teachers that taught with her and all say she is a very effective teacher and seems to have gotten her life in order. This is one of those unfortunate incidents that would get you fired as a teacher under KY law (moral conduct either present or past). Just my thoughts on the matter.

This was something written in a reasonable and sympathetic tone. I responded in the same vein:

I have to confess that my more evil side ran away with me on this one. I've seen lots of stories of teachers that acted, shall we say, inappropriately and were able to maintain employment.

Your explanation makes sense. I definitely feel sorry for this woman. Whenever a career catastrophe happens – whether it's 'Scooter' Libby taking a fall for the President or this gal being drummed out of teaching – one has to wonder where the person ends up. Will this woman be able to get a teaching job elsewhere? It might be tough with her face plastered all over the national media.

Steve Erbach

Then came this from Anon. #2:

The teacher in question is a desert storm vet and trained in psy-ops. She's playing the media like a fiddle. She was in porn for two years at least and was a stripper and in PENTHOUSE before that. Oh, a democrat, as well.

I dated her and cut it off because she's such a manipulative predator. She would tell me stories how she used her sexuality to mess with her in-class 'loverboys'.

Hey! This is believable! Not! I decided not to quote any of this in my main blog entry because I was becoming wary of anonymous comments lacking anything approaching documentation.

Then today I got this comment from Anon. #3 (who actually signed up for a Blogger name, 'McGill', but has no blog):

Anonymous is right, she was in PSYOP (not psy-op) but was never in Desert Storm--she was still in training then. I know because I was her squad leader for a very short time. She was a problem soldier with serious issues who could manipulate a lot of people. She left the Army, went to porn and re-enlisted. This all could only happen to her.

OK, so I decided to follow up. The normal news channels had nothing, of course, beyond the original story. All the action is on the blogs. Here's a summary:

• Ms. Dye appeared in up to 23 pornographic films under the name Rikki Andersin.
• Her suspension came as the result of a student who mined his father's porn collection and found at least one of these films
• She was in the Army twice, the second time as an MP. She left her first hitch because she got into a lot of trouble. She was asked not to re-enlist.
• She is getting divorced from her husband and is in a custody battle.
• She's given birth to other children, at least one during her first stint in the Army.
• One blog posted the cover of one of the videos Ms. Dye is purported to have appeared in. All I can say is that it's not possible to tell from the picture.

This is all hearsay from the blogs.

Dye confessed to having appeared in (at least) one such film years ago. Were there more? Certain individuals claim that there were in the blogs using obscentiy-laced vehemence. Is this credible? I don't know. The odds most likely are not zero that she appeared in no more than one of these things. Do I want to find out for sure? No.

I wish Ms. Dye well. What this incident shows me is that it's very difficult to get the facts if all you rely on are the blogs.