Scott Haun is free on bail after allegedly touching a teenage boy in an inappropriate manner and performing a sexual act. An affidavit received from the Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Department also refers to an alleged encounter with the boy’s mother and father on the same evening.

Guilt or innocence will be determined in a court of law, or by legal representatives in a pre-court settlement. Although materials provided by the authorities in Scotts Bluff County refer to an admission, at this paper we firmly believe in America’s standard of innocent until proven guilty.

Instead, we would like to address the broader issue. It is difficult not to stand aghast when public figures are accused of or arrested on charges of inappropriate behavior.

In recent decades we have heard the stories of Clinton, Edwards, Sanford, Weiner and Craig, as well as countless celebrities. Explaining such behavior, psychologists and others with expertise generally refer to the influence of power. Those in the public eye, the story goes, believe themselves above community standards—and sometimes the law itself.

We recognize the distinction between unwise actions, such as those of President Bill Clinton, and illegal incidents. A weakness toward extra-marital affairs, for example, or hard drinking, while difficult to condone, may not affect a person’s ability to govern or entertain. But we do not understand how reasonable people, in particularly those elected to public office, cannot see the necessity of personal responsibility.

When one accepts a position in the public eye, they also accept that certain standards apply. People—and the media—pay attention to such figures. Cameras follow them and citizens wronged by them will gain instant attention by revealing moments of wrongdoing.

Public officials in particular should hold themselves and be held by the public to a higher standard.