Originally Posted By Dabob2 Technically it is illegal, but it's also a fact that prosecutors generally exercise their discretion here, and almost never prosecute this if both kids are in their teens and especially if the relationship started while both were minors.
Originally Posted By ecdc Dabob2 nails it. This "Hey I don't like it but it's the law" seems like an odd approach to me. Didn't a bunch of us here excoriate Mitt Romney for his taxes, even though what he did was perfectly legal? The attitude then definitely wasn't one of "Well, I don't like it but whaddya gonna do?" It was one of incredulity, and it should be here too. Prosecutors often have wide discretion for what kind of crimes they prosecute. A dirty little secret is that some of them frequently target the weakest (read: least educated and poorest) of defendants so they can amp up their numbers for the next election and tout it in ads. "District attorney Cletus Whitey put dangerous child pornographers behind bars." Except it turns out the "dangerous" person was actually a 17 yr old boy who was tried as an adult for having a naked picture of his 16 yr old girlfriend on his phone. Yes, that's happened. Obviously where the line is drawn is blurred and tricky to find. Most people would be outraged at prosecuting a newly-turned 18 yr old for having a relationship with a 17 yr old in the same grade who's three months younger. What about a one year gap? Two years? Three? I get it...it reaches a point where it does become shady, but it's often in the eye of the beholder.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost I guess I have to look at it by dropping the gay part. If this were hetero and the parents of the "younger member" pressed the legal authorities to go after the elder. You can bet that there would be no hesitation in prosecuting. Being gay or female does not excuse them from the laws, no matter how much they meant to each other. If one says well, this is different, I have to ask why? Where do you draw the line. 18 vs 17 or for certain circumstances maybe 18 vs 16 or so on. I'm pretty sure that she knew the laws, but thought that gender and alternative lifestyle would protect them. It won't and shouldn't.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>but thought that gender and alternative lifestyle would protect them.<< Huh? What evidence is there of that? Why would we assume someone would understand the law but knowingly go forward? It seems an awfully uncharitable way to view the situation. That's a separate issue from whether someone should be prosecuted - ignorance of the law doesn't exempt one from responsibility and I understand that. But it seems like people are determined to make assumptions about this situation in order to feel better about sending an 18 yr old girl to prison for having a relationship with someone who is younger. This girl has no business going to prison. A culture that would think otherwise is a seriously sick society.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Why would we think so? Because the gay and lesbian community for the most part has rallied to her cause even though she did commit a crime...
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Because the gay and lesbian community for the most part has rallied to her cause even though she did commit a crime...<< Non-sequitur (again). That the gay community has rallied to her defense has nothing to do with whether or not she thought being gay would exempt her from the law or whether or not she was cognizant of the law beforehand.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <If this were hetero and the parents of the "younger member" pressed the legal authorities to go after the elder. You can bet that there would be no hesitation in prosecuting. > Not so sure about that. It really depends on the ages involved, length of the relationship, and frankly, on the prosecutor involved. That's what's meant by prosecutor discretion. Some would probably jump on it, while others would say "I've got better things to do with my limited time."
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Ignorance of the law is not a defense, you can be prosecuted even if you don't know the exact law which is why statutory rape laws are so tricky...
Originally Posted By Tikiduck While I do think the prosecution of this girl is wrong, it could be a lot worse. Think of the Muslim countries where this same "crime" would be punishable by death. That said, I also think the severity of punishment in this case is influenced far too much by religion.
