Late afternoon sun trickles through the dense trees surrounding the Maple Valley Skate Park, casting shadows on the concrete quarter pipes where a dozen teenage boys take turns practicing their skills. Travis Thomas, who will be a 10th-grader at Tahoma High School in the fall, sits on a graffiti-laden bench at the top of the skating pit. The 15-year-old isn't fazed by the spray-painted message ("Richard sucks dick and cock") spanning the bench--but he is perturbed by the thought of middle-aged teachers sucking dick. Mukilteo second-grade teacher Susan Lemery, 37, was charged earlier this month with child rape and child molestation for her alleged relationship with two 14-year-old boys. A 44-year-old Puyallup teacher resigned last week when faced with possible second-degree sexual misconduct charges regarding her relationship with a 16-year-old boy.

The Maple Valley skateboarders are about the same age as those involved in the two cases. The Stranger interrupted the idyllic suburban scene (Maple Valley is south of Seattle, near Kent) to see what the boys had to say about the recent rash of illicit affairs. Thomas wrinkles his pudgy nose and thinks for a while, while his friends, dressed in rock T-shirts and baggy shorts, gather around to join the conversation. Most groan or make faces when they hear about Lemery and the other teacher.

"Maybe the teacher's on crack or something," 14-year-old Joe Budnick jokingly blurts. Jared Collins, also 14 and going into ninth grade, slouches next to Thomas on the bench. He says he has only seen teacher-student relationships on television. "Like on Boston Public or something," Collins says, fidgeting nervously with his skateboard. Budnick's mom pulls up in a pickup truck, and Collins asks for a ride. The pair grab their skateboards and run to the truck, seeming relieved to escape the discussion about relationships and sex. Thomas scoots over on the bench, eager to give his opinion.

"If it was like the Mary Kay Letourneau thing (the former Burien teacher now in prison for having sex with a student), that's just wrong," Thomas declares.

The gross-out factor isn't because these are teachers and students, according to Thomas, but because the teachers are so old. "If it's a really young teacher, like 20 years old, and a high-school student, like a senior, then it's no big deal," Thomas says. "Unless they're doing stuff in school," 13-year-old Alex Hess offers from behind the bench, where he sits cross-legged on the grass. The boys say they've never been the object of a teacher's affection.

"It depends on who the teacher is. If it's a really ugly teacher, I'd be like, 'What the hell's the matter with you?'" Thomas says. He now has plenty to say about the topic, like the potential for a twisted teacher's-pet situation.

"The teacher could favor the student, like give them A's or something," Thomas says. "That just wouldn't be fair."

What is it about these grubby pubescent boys that could attract older women? Hess has a theory: "They just can't find anyone else who likes them."