My friend's daughter had a relationship with a man from her local theater group. The age of consent in my state is 16. They had a relationship that started when she was 14.5 and he was 30. She ended it when she was 16 because she found someone else closer to her own age. (She's now 30 herself.) Five years after the relationship ended, someone told the police, and he was arrested. He got six years in jail - and the reason it was a light sentence is that the relationship was fully consensual. They saw each other three times a week for almost two years. The trial was in all the papers round here and it was a big scandal.
A 30-year-old man with someone who's 14 is pretty gross to me. However, she was in a relationship that she wanted to be in, and many people who are 14 are having sex these days. It just seems odd that someone can go to jail for having a consensual relationship with someone aged14-16. It makes me wonder if an exception should be made for people age 14-plus who insist that the relationship was consensual.
Some states have a major-minor law, where the law recognizes the difference between a child and someone who's nearing the age of maturity. It seems that adding a similar provision would help free up the courts to concentrate on more serious crimes. Statutory rape laws could kick in automatically under age 14 even if the victim claims consent, or at any age under the consent age if they feel they were coerced. But it seemed harsh to me that he got six years in jail for a relationship in which the girl insisted she was an enthusiastic participant, and in which she was 14-16, an age at which many teenagers are having sex.
What do you think?
A 30-year-old man with someone who's 14 is pretty gross to me. However, she was in a relationship that she wanted to be in, and many people who are 14 are having sex these days. It just seems odd that someone can go to jail for having a consensual relationship with someone aged14-16. It makes me wonder if an exception should be made for people age 14-plus who insist that the relationship was consensual.
Some states have a major-minor law, where the law recognizes the difference between a child and someone who's nearing the age of maturity. It seems that adding a similar provision would help free up the courts to concentrate on more serious crimes. Statutory rape laws could kick in automatically under age 14 even if the victim claims consent, or at any age under the consent age if they feel they were coerced. But it seemed harsh to me that he got six years in jail for a relationship in which the girl insisted she was an enthusiastic participant, and in which she was 14-16, an age at which many teenagers are having sex.
What do you think?