Professor who supported sex-assault defendant loses job

PLYMOUTH, N.H. (AP) " Plymouth State University's president says an employee who publicly supported a guidance counselor who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old won't be rehired after calling the teen a "pursuer."

Nearly two dozen educators and others had attended the July 9 sentencing on behalf of 39-year-old Kristie Torbick. She has pleaded guilty to four counts of felonious sexual assault against an Exeter High School student.

Nancy Strapko, a graduate teaching lecturer, had written a letter about her therapy sessions with Torbick and insists Torbick wasn't a predator. She writes that the victim "was truly the pursuer."

PSU President Donald Birx and Provost Robin Dorff say Strapko's portrayal is "legally wrong and morally reprehensible." A message seeking comment was left for Strapko.