The Statutory Rape Law

[Kaiyle Brightblade]

Statutory rape is a kind of sexual offense where an adult (over 18 ) has cconsensual sex with someone who has not reached the age of consent, designated by state law. The age and the punishment for this kind of offense varies by state. Information can be found here: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2003/olrdata/jud/rpt/2003-R-0376.htm

So basically someone can be punished for illegal sexual activity even if both partners agreed to the sex. Someone who has committed an illegal sex act has to register as a sex offender for the rest of their life. Being found guilty of statutory rape has very serious lifelong reprocussions.

It's a good idea. A thirty year old man sleeping with a fifteen year old girl is wrong. Very likely he is taking advantage of her immaturity and inexperience, and that kind of advantage should be considered rape. But it can lead to some sticky situations. Maybe an 18 year old boy is dating a 17 year old girl. Consensual sex in this case would be illegal because their small age gap crossed the divide.

This is a little hard to debate about because every state has a different law. But I'd like to know what you girls think. Is this a bad law altogether? What is a good "age of consent" for sex? Should we include an age gap where consensual sex is completely okay? Or is the law fine how it is?  

[johnlennonandcupcakes]

That's not even true. I'm pretty sure most states have made the legal age of consent 16. And even if the age is still 18, those states have changed the laws so that an eighteen-year-old can have sexual intercourse with a seventeen-year-old. There are a lot of weird complexities and things.

For example, in the state of Florida, the legal age of consent is fifteen, but anyone older than eighteen cannot have sexual relations with anyone under 17.

Dissimilarly, in Massachusetts the legal age of consent is 16. End of story.

It differs from state to state and you shouldn't broaden the debate that way. Many people think that the age line is 18 and in almost every case it isn't. You need to check with your state laws for specifics.  

[Lieutenant Shotgun]

I agree with Liam.

In my state, the legal age is sixteen.  

[Sensation Ari]

In my state the legal age is 16. [had to google that]
I find it bullshit if you're 17 and you're boyfriend is 18 that it's considered rape in some states. BUULLL.

 

[Hester Peche]

Well the age of consent for my state is 18, (got to love California).

But in most states there are things called "Romeo and Juliet laws", which usually when a couple has an intimate relationship when one of them is over 18 and the other hasn't reached the age of consent. But, while the older of the two is technically guilty of statutory rape, these laws allow for a light sentence or none at all.

Like...when I lost my viginity I was under the age of consent and my boyfriend was already 18, so technically it would have been considered statutory rape. But, because of these laws and I was consenting there would have been no charge.  

[Fatgirl and Robin]

I personally think it's a stupid law.
My friend's friend's boyfriend almost got arrested because he was touching her? She's 16-17 and he's 18?
Then, there's the case of Megan.
There is this girl named Megan in my neighbor who, when she was 13 or 14, got knocked up by a 25 year old. BUT she told him she was seventeen. The girl has a very mature looking body, so it's no surprise he believed her. There are a bunch of cases like that - why should the man, who was lied to, get in trouble?

 

[Lunar Okami Rose]

The law stated in the article you posted is exactly the same as the law for the United Kingdom. The law between the US and the UK are similar, and they all change depending on jurisdiction of states and countries  

[RosesFallingLikeRain]

BaBy LoVeS tO dAnCe In ThE D A R K

For Canada, things like these are different.
Last I heard(which was a few years ago, in sex ed class), As long as the younger of the two is at least fourteen, and there isn't more than a three year difference in ages, a couple can have sex.
Meaning someone like me, who is sixteen could legally have sex with a nineteen year old as long as it's consensual.
The laws say that I'm almost a legal adult, as I can leave home, learn to drive, etc. When I am seventeen I am allowed to live on my own(I think) and when I'm eighteen I am legally considered an adult.

I looked this up last year for a friend who was thinking about leaving home.

'CaUsE wHeN He's LoOkInG sHe FaLls A P A R T

 

[Kaiyle Brightblade]

Thanks everyone. I realize that this issue actually does not apply to many states and other countries. But where I live, the age of consent is 18, and even if the partners are within three years of age the adult can be convicted of a misdemeanor. In most of these cases the adult is not punished. But the possibility does still exist, and the consequences are very severe because you have to register as a sex offender for life. So yeah, the problem mainly exists in California. I'm sorry that this makes it such a narrow debate.  

[whatagirlwants]

I think age of consent is stupid. Its consentual or its not. When I was 14 I looked 21 and even bought alcohol. the guy didn't even ask for an ID. So ya it may seem wrong to some people the girl knows she's 13 and the guy's old enough to be her dad and she wants to have sex with him let her. He shouldn't get in trouble if she agreed. If the younger person is old enough to know what sex is and agrees to it then its not rape. Now if you trick a 10 year old into "playing a game" with you then it is rape.  

[Kaiyle Brightblade]

froggymama89

I think age of consent is stupid. Its consentual or its not. When I was 14 I looked 21 and even bought alcohol. the guy didn't even ask for an ID. So ya it may seem wrong to some people the girl knows she's 13 and the guy's old enough to be her dad and she wants to have sex with him let her. He shouldn't get in trouble if she agreed. If the younger person is old enough to know what sex is and agrees to it then its not rape. Now if you trick a 10 year old into "playing a game" with you then it is rape.

Lol about the alcohol. I got ID'd last weekend for buying a video game. So you really don't think that someone can be too immature to make a good decision? Sure, a younger girl could understand all about the physical and biological nature of sex. But can she judge if she can handle the emotional consequences? Those can't really be taught, and can be hard to handle no matter what age you are. It could be devastating to someone so young.  

[whatagirlwants]

Kaiyle Brightblade

froggymama89

I think age of consent is stupid. Its consentual or its not. When I was 14 I looked 21 and even bought alcohol. the guy didn't even ask for an ID. So ya it may seem wrong to some people the girl knows she's 13 and the guy's old enough to be her dad and she wants to have sex with him let her. He shouldn't get in trouble if she agreed. If the younger person is old enough to know what sex is and agrees to it then its not rape. Now if you trick a 10 year old into "playing a game" with you then it is rape.

Lol about the alcohol. I got ID'd last weekend for buying a video game. So you really don't think that someone can be too immature to make a good decision? Sure, a younger girl could understand all about the physical and biological nature of sex. But can she judge if she can handle the emotional consequences? Those can't really be taught, and can be hard to handle no matter what age you are. It could be devastating to someone so young.

yes but all the same that's her choice I know someone who lost her virginity at 14 and it didn't devastate her, she admitted she was too young but if you are old enough to know what sex is, to really know what sex is and want to do it then it's choice and you have to live with the consequences of that choice.  

[AriaStarSong]

I disagree that just because you are old enough to understand what sex is you're old enough to consent. Do you remember your first boyfriend? I do. I was even 15, old enough to "know better". We were so "In Love" it makes me sick to think back on it now. And we were both kids, just caught up in the idea. We didn't have sex because I at least knew better than that. But a lot of girls that are younger than that are very easily manipulated, it's sad to say. We're so wrapped up in this whole romantic notion of "falling in love" and finding our "soulmate". An older man who understands even a little bit of the female psyche could easily manipulate a younger girl into thinking that she is "so IN LOVE" with him that it doesn't matter. If she hasn't been properly educated about things, she might not really understand protection or the risks involved, and very likely has no one that she can comfortably ask. Chances are, the manipulator is also encouraging her to keep things a secret, because her parents are probably not going to be very happy about their daughter dating a 30 year old. When you have little to no experience, it is SO easy to get carried away. And yes, you can get carried away with someone your own age, but there is something a little more innocent to that. You're both getting carried away. The chances of a 30 year old getting "swept up in the moment" with a 13 year old? I'm not buying it.

Of course, it IS fully possible to fall in love with someone who has a significant age difference from you. One of my best friends just got married at the age of 20. Her husband is 30. They're perfect for each other. But there is a difference between a 20 year old dating a 30 year old, and a 13 year old dating a 23 year old. They are at different points in their lives.

Are there exceptions? Yes. But overall, I think that statutory rape laws are in place for a good reason and should remain so. Age of consent may be a random number and have nothing to do with whether someone is actually ready to make a decision, but having A boundary is good, in my opinion. Do the laws have flaws? Yes. Do I think an 18 year old boy should be arrested for having sex with his 17 year old girlfriend? Hell no. That's dumb. But you've got to draw a line somewhere.

As a note, I was manipulated when I was younger. Thankfully, I realized what was going on early enough to stop things before anything that I would have really regretted happened, but partially thanks to my friends. I don't know if I would have figured it out by myself until it was too late. It CAN happen to anyone. I am and was a very intelligent, very independent, and decently social girl. I wasn't "popular" in high school, but I had my group of friends and was far from the desperate outcast. I had no problem finding a date if I wanted one (which most of the time I didn't. I thought most of the guys at my high school were morons). I still found myself being manipulated by someone. Even though nothing really bad happened, it still haunts me. The prospect of seeing him again terrifies me. I literally have nightmares where I run into him somewhere and can't get away. This happened almost 7 years ago.  

[whatagirlwants]

AriaStarSong

I disagree that just because you are old enough to understand what sex is you're old enough to consent. Do you remember your first boyfriend? I do. I was even 15, old enough to "know better". We were so "In Love" it makes me sick to think back on it now. And we were both kids, just caught up in the idea. We didn't have sex because I at least knew better than that. But a lot of girls that are younger than that are very easily manipulated, it's sad to say. We're so wrapped up in this whole romantic notion of "falling in love" and finding our "soulmate". An older man who understands even a little bit of the female psyche could easily manipulate a younger girl into thinking that she is "so IN LOVE" with him that it doesn't matter. If she hasn't been properly educated about things, she might not really understand protection or the risks involved, and very likely has no one that she can comfortably ask. Chances are, the manipulator is also encouraging her to keep things a secret, because her parents are probably not going to be very happy about their daughter dating a 30 year old. When you have little to no experience, it is SO easy to get carried away. And yes, you can get carried away with someone your own age, but there is something a little more innocent to that. You're both getting carried away. The chances of a 30 year old getting "swept up in the moment" with a 13 year old? I'm not buying it.

Of course, it IS fully possible to fall in love with someone who has a significant age difference from you. One of my best friends just got married at the age of 20. Her husband is 30. They're perfect for each other. But there is a difference between a 20 year old dating a 30 year old, and a 13 year old dating a 23 year old. They are at different points in their lives.

Are there exceptions? Yes. But overall, I think that statutory rape laws are in place for a good reason and should remain so. Age of consent may be a random number and have nothing to do with whether someone is actually ready to make a decision, but having A boundary is good, in my opinion. Do the laws have flaws? Yes. Do I think an 18 year old boy should be arrested for having sex with his 17 year old girlfriend? Hell no. That's dumb. But you've got to draw a line somewhere.

As a note, I was manipulated when I was younger. Thankfully, I realized what was going on early enough to stop things before anything that I would have really regretted happened, but partially thanks to my friends. I don't know if I would have figured it out by myself until it was too late. It CAN happen to anyone. I am and was a very intelligent, very independent, and decently social girl. I wasn't "popular" in high school, but I had my group of friends and was far from the desperate outcast. I had no problem finding a date if I wanted one (which most of the time I didn't. I thought most of the guys at my high school were morons). I still found myself being manipulated by someone. Even though nothing really bad happened, it still haunts me. The prospect of seeing him again terrifies me. I literally have nightmares where I run into him somewhere and can't get away. This happened almost 7 years ago.

I manipulated too by someone younger than me. Don't underestimate the abilities of a predator in training. By the time I realized what was going on it was too late and he raped me. I do understand what you are saying here and I guess they should set the age way back. I mean I was 18 and had a 15 year old BF. We went to school together and there was nothing manipulative about the relationship. Though it was just for fun for me and he fell in love and I broke his heart thats life. I waited until he was 16 to sleep with him but honestly I don't thing there was any difference than if we had done it before his birthday. Only I would get in trouble. I also have a friend who at 21 was dating a 14 year old girl. He truly loves her with all his heart and was waiting till the age of consent when her dad found out about the relationship. He had my friend arrested. She already wasn't a virgin so they had to fight tooth and nail to not leave him with a permanent mark on his record. He got off with a warning from the judge but it's situations like these. I guess maybe make age of consent once you hit high school or make it so that if the older one was a senior when the younger one was a freshman its ok.  

[-PrimaCzarina-]

[Personally, my issues isn't with the laws (though I think it's kind of crap that the government can tell how, when, and where we can legally have sex but understand the urge to set an age limit on sex to prevent *****) but more with the punishment.

The sexual offender list should NOT include eighteen-year-old boys who bone their sixteen-year-old girl-friends and get in legal trouble because the girl's parents gets angry and turn him in. ***** and rapists should be the only ones there. Not horny teenagers.

This punishment ruins lives by confusing a public that doesn't understand what the list really is.]