Senior charged for statutory rape of her freshmen girlfriend.

[Matt]

Frankly, I say good for the parents. I don't think this is a gay rights issue as the media is trying to paint it. This is the issue of an 18 year old having sexual relations with a minor, plain and simple. If it were an 18 year old boy, he would also be charged (if the parents pursued it) and no one would raise an eyebrow. If it were my daughter, I would certainly press charges if my request that the 18 year old stay away from my daughter was not complied with.

 

[Tanin]

Frankly, I say good for the parents. I don't think this is a gay rights issue as the media is trying to paint it. This is the issue of an 18 year old having sexual relations with a minor, plain and simple. If it were an 18 year old boy, he would also be charged (if the parents pursued it) and no one would raise an eyebrow. If it were my daughter, I would certainly press charges if my request that the 18 year old stay away from my daughter was not complied with.

Why didn't the parents stop the relationship while they were still both minors?

 

[chaseter]

The average age of menarche in the US is 12-13. It's likely that at some point this 16-17 year old was having a sexual relationship with someone who hadn't even become a woman in the eyes of biology yet. Even more gross.

 

[chaseter]

Why didn't the parents stop the relationship while they were still both minors?

How do you know they didn't try?

 

[Tanin]

How do you know they didn't try?

I don't.... tis why I am asking.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

Frankly, I say good for the parents. I don't think this is a gay rights issue as the media is trying to paint it. This is the issue of an 18 year old having sexual relations with a minor, plain and simple. If it were an 18 year old boy, he would also be charged (if the parents pursued it) and no one would raise an eyebrow. If it were my daughter, I would certainly press charges if my request that the 18 year old stay away from my daughter was not complied with.

I'd have to agree. Whatever motive the parents have, they're well within their right to do so.

But if it was an 18 year old girl, and a 14 year old boy, she'd be the victim, some how.

You couldn't be more wrong.

 

[Matt]

The parents may very well have tried to stop it but obviously you cannot press charges against another minor for statutory rape. Once she became 18 the legality of the situation changed and may have given the parents and school more options.

 

[The Question]

The guy would go straight to jail.

But if it was an 18 year old girl, and a 14 year old boy, she'd be the victim, some how.

That's really not true.


Anyway. While the age gap is kind of sketchy (at least for this age group where four years a much bigger divide in terms of development), the fact is that relationships with this kind of age gap between an older boy and a younger girl happen all the time and most people don't care, so the motivations here are probably homophobic.

I'd have to agree. Whatever motive the parents have, they're well within their right to do so.

I don't think most people are questioning that. Legally they were well within their rights, but the question is what their motivation is here, and it's an entirely valid question to ask. Not because there's nothing sketchy about an 18 year old dating a 14 year old, but what motivated the parents to press charges does say a lot about our cultural attitudes towards homosexuality and female sexuality. Relationships with this kind of age gap with an older boy and a younger girl happen all the time and in most cases no one does much to stop it. That's not to say that such a relationship couldn't possibly be weird or inappropriate, just that if there is a double standard going on here it's worth talking about, and if the parents were motivated by homophobia then it's definitely worth talking about because homophobia is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.

Or, to put it more simply, the older girl might be a creep, but that doesn't mean the parents aren't bigots and bigotry is worth discussing.

 

[Matt]

But why assume that they are? There are just as many (and I'd argue more) parents who would do the same thing with a male/female 18 and 14 year old than would not.

 

[The Question]

But why assume that they are? There are just as many (and I'd argue more) parents who would do the same thing with a male/female 18 and 14 year old than would not.

Why assume that they're not?

My main point is that it's worth discussing. Even if they're not, the hypothetical still brings up very important issues of double standards in our society.

 

[SV Fan]

Frankly, I say good for the parents. I don't think this is a gay rights issue as the media is trying to paint it. This is the issue of an 18 year old having sexual relations with a minor, plain and simple. If it were an 18 year old boy, he would also be charged (if the parents pursued it) and no one would raise an eyebrow. If it were my daughter, I would certainly press charges if my request that the 18 year old stay away from my daughter was not complied with.

I think the problem is (at least from my understanding) the parents of the minor made it fairly clear that gay sex is icky. it's cool if they want to charge the girl having sex with the minor on the basis 18 years olds shouldn't be doing it with 14 year olds but the second they made it about gay sex, then it's about gay sex first and an 18 year old having sex with a 14 year old secondary

The parents easily could have came out and said 18 year olds shouldn't be fooling around with 14 year olds and the fact they gay has nothing to do with this but they basically came out and said that damn 18 year old turned my daughter gay, heaven forbid.

On a somewhat different but same note, wouldn't it be cool if they did to catch a predator: lesbian edition. lol

 

[jmc]

Honestly, I really think the whole age of consent thing gets blown out of proportion when the people involved aren't that far apart in age.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Honestly, I really think the whole age of consent thing gets blown out of proportion when the people involved aren't that far apart in age.

This I agree with.

Does the punishment of being labeled a sexual offender for the rest of her life fit the crime of continuing a sexual relationship with her 14 year old girlfriend after she turned 18, when the relationship had been ongoing before she turned 18?

No. It does not. This girl is not a sexual offender.

That's the problem with statutory rape laws, because now in the eyes of the law, she is the equal of a 50 year old who would have sex with a 15 year old, which is what the law is in place to prevent. A case where an adult is clearly taking advantage of a minor. That is not what was happening in this case.

 

[Schlosser85]

This I agree with.

Does the punishment of being labeled a sexual offender for the rest of her life fit the crime of continuing a sexual relationship with her 14 year old girlfriend after she turned 18, when the relationship had been ongoing before she turned 18?

No. It does not. This girl is not a sexual offender.

That's the problem with statutory rape laws, because now in the eyes of the law, she is the equal of a 50 year old who would have sex with a 15 year old, which is what the law is in place to prevent. A case where an adult is clearly taking advantage of a minor. That is not what was happening in this case.

Agreed. Being labelled a sex offender follows someone around for the rest of their life. It's not something that should be tossed around frivolously the way it is.

 

[jmc]

This I agree with.

Does the punishment of being labeled a sexual offender for the rest of her life fit the crime of continuing a sexual relationship with her 14 year old girlfriend after she turned 18, when the relationship had been ongoing before she turned 18?

No. It does not. This girl is not a sexual offender.

That's the problem with statutory rape laws, because now in the eyes of the law, she is the equal of a 50 year old who would have sex with a 15 year old, which is what the law is in place to prevent. A case where an adult is clearly taking advantage of a minor. That is not what was happening in this case.

A sex offender is someone who preys on others, who's intent is to do harm for their own gratification, those people are scum and should be dealt with accordingly. But two teenagers? C'mon, it's not like anyone was forced to do anything they didn't want to do, they were two teens who hooked up, that's what people do. They're 4 years apart - big ****in' deal. 18 is an arbitrary number, you don't suddenly wake up on your eighteenth birthday (or 16 as it is down here) and become an adult. Do people forget that a 150 years ago 13 year old girls were being married off to 40 year old men?

 

[Matt]

And less than 100 years ago 8 year olds were working in mines. Should we return to that? An 18 year old having relations with a 14 year old is a big deal. It is molestation, IMO. There is a huge maturity difference in those short 14 years.

 

[the last son]

I can't agree with Matt at all. I disagree 100 percent with you sir. 18 and 14 is not that big a deal.

 

[Matt]

If you had a child, your perspective would be different. In fact, I'd wager a good deal of people saying that it isn't a big deal would have different perspectives if they were parents.

 

[Hunter Rider]

There is a huge difference between 18 and 14 in terms of maturity. I don't see the big fuss here, if you have sex with someone who is underage you get punished, that's the law, trying to turn this on the "evil bigoted" parents is just typical media sensationalism.

It seems to me the parents objected from the start but they kept seeing each other so the parents took legal action once it became an option, it wasn't like they were sitting with a little calendar marking off the days until they could get the older girl in serious trouble.

 

[the last son]

There is not that much difference between 18 and 14 for all. For some yes. If that was the case they would not all be in the same school

 

[Hunter Rider]

16 and 11 year olds are in the same school as well, the fact is maturity is a huge factor here but regardless, what the 18 year old did is illegal and that's the bottom line like it would be if this were a boy and girl.

 

[the last son]

It's a stupid law.

 

[the last son]

It needs tweaking for situations like this

 

[Hunter Rider]

No it isn't, it protects young inexperienced people getting in over their heads and puts a warning barrier up for predators.

 

[the last son]

So how many years should this girl get? 1, 5, 10, 50?