3-24-15 National:
If two people are equally unable to give consent but have sex anyway, should either be charged with a crime?
It's a question that many college administrators wrestle with when drugs and alcohol are factors in sexual assault disputes. The verdict often seems to be that male students are uniquely responsible for ascertaining that their sexual partners are in a state of mind to consent, even when the female is the initiator and both are intoxicated.
This double standard for men seems to apply to underage teenagers as well. Take, for example, this recent story in The Courier-Journal: The Kentucky Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of "B.H.," who was 15 when he was charged with sexual misconduct and possessing pornographic material featuring a minor (the latter is a felony charge).
B.H. was in trouble for having sex with his 13-year-old girlfriend and exchanging nude pictures with her. The acts were voluntary, though neither teen could legally consent to sexual activities since they were both under age at the time.
The girl's parents went to the cops after they found out, and B.H. was prosecuted. (Even though his parents could technically have done the same thing to his girlfriend, they opted against that course of action.) He pleaded guilty, had to register as a sex offender and was remanded to a youth treatment center for almost a year. He is now challenging that outcome after the fact.
Kentucky Assistant Attorney General Gregory Fuchs maintains that B.H. pressured the girl and had been involved in one other incident—a prank of a sexual nature—that justified his punishment.
He also cites the girl's testimony that B.H. said he "would tell me what to do and how to do it," and says B.H. was more culpable because he sent the first photo and threatened to tell friends they were having sex if she didn't send him one back.
"There was only one victim in this case, C.W.," Fuchs writes, "and it was just as illegal" for B.H. to "possess child pornography"—the sexted photos—"as it would have been if he was 51 years old."
That may be a defense of what was done to B.H., but it's not a very good defense of the soundness of the law. Of course it's different for a 15-year-old to possess nude photos of a 13-year-old, compared with an old man doing the same. One is predatory and unnatural; the other is an awkward yet remarkably common part of growing up.
When authorities in various states take it upon themselves to crack down on sexting, they invariably find that half the kids are doing it. What's more likely, that half of all underage kids need to be put on a sex offender registry and packed off to reform school or that laws designed to prevent adults from abusing children were written so broadly that they are inadvertently ensnaring some unlucky young miscreants?
Even if I believed these teens were guilty of sexual crimes, I would balk at Fuchs's approach. What better way to foster unhealthy sexual predilections in a kid could there be than telling him he is an illegal exception, publicly labeling him a deviant and exiling him to a school for other deviants?
Some states have recognized the absurdity of criminalizing consensual sexual experimentation between teens, by granting exceptions if they are close in age, both underage or in relationships. As The Courier-Journal noted:
And in neighboring Ohio, the state Supreme Court in 2010 held that it was unconstitutional to criminally charge a child who was himself legally unable to consent when he engaged in sexual conduct with a same-aged peer.
"Each child is both an offender and a victim," that court said, "and the distinction between those two terms breaks down."
The distinction breaks down, except with poorly written laws and in the eyes of overzealous authorities. ..Source.. by Robby Soave
Showing posts with label Romeo and Juliet - Cases. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romeo and Juliet - Cases. Show all posts
March 24, 2015
Should Children Who Have Sex With Each Other Be Prosecuted?
March 15, 2011
Editorial: Reform Michigan's sex offender list
Instead of lawmakers playing parent to Michigan's youth, it would be much better if judges made the decision rather then they being tied to a 4-year age difference. Lawmakers can never know -beforehand- the circumstances of every single case!3-15-2011 Michigan:
Removing experimenting teens from sexual criminal registry is reasonable and just
The Michigan Senate has adopted necessary reforms making Michigan's sex offender registry less brutal and stigmatizing to teenagers. The reforms ought to be quickly adopted by the state House.
We have long argued that the state's sex offender registry is too all-inclusive and damaging to the life chances of teenagers engaged in consensual sexual experimentation.
Currently, all those are placed on the list must remain on it for 25 years. This includes youths who have been convicted of statutory rape after engaging in consensual sex with an underage partner. The age of consent is 16.
A 17-year-old who has intercourse with his 15-year-old girlfriend, if convicted of statutory rape, in which consent is not at issue, can now find himself on a list with rapists and child molesters.
The Legislation adopted by the Senate would prevent such teens from being listed, as long as there is no more than four years between the ages of those engaged in consensual sexual activity and neither of the partners is younger than 13 years of age.
The legislation does not legalize underage sex; the age of consent remains at 16. And those convicted of statutory rape would still have to be on a police list for a period of time. Underage sex, after all, remains a bad idea.
The point of a public sex offender list, we have argued, is to alert citizens to the fact that a convicted sexual predator is in their midst.
It is not to stigmatize for decades young people who have not engaged in a predatory act.
We and the American Civil Liberties Union have been arguing for such reforms for years. But despite efforts by some reasonable lawmakers, their colleagues have balked.
The sponsor of the bills is Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, who noted that federal legislation has spurred this move to change state law.
The federal Adam Walsh Act requires with public sex offender lists to have a tiered process, in which people convicted of lesser, non-assaultive offenses would not be on the public list and could petition to have their names removed from the police list after 10 years.
More serious offenders would be on the public list for 25 years and have to report their whereabouts to the police twice a year.
The most serious offenders would be on the public list for life and have to report every three months.
Penalties for failure to report would be increased. Currently, failure to report in a timely way only becomes a prison offense after the third or fourth such failure.
This legislation makes it a possible jail offense to fail to report a first time.
The catalyst for states revising their lists to conform to federal legislation is the disbursement of federal law enforcement grants.
In Michigan, about $1.2 million is at stake.
This would have been sensible legislation without federal prodding, but if it takes an incentive for it to pass, so be it. ..Source.. by Detroit News
August 7, 2010
Letter writing campaign
This really is a GREAT idea, folks should join the group and see what can be do with this "Letter Writing" campaign.8-7-2010 National:
Super Idea from Member of: Families of Sex Offenders Support Group
"Everyday I meet people who have a boyfriend or a son in the same situation as my son. A teenager who had consensual and mutual gratification with a classmate, only to have the classmate yell 'assault'. In my son's case even the judge and DA claimed that the only crime he committed was 'consensual gratification with someone LEGALLY too young to give consent, altho the texts do show she did'.....they have an age difference of less than 2 years. This is a case of her writing pages (55 of them) of texts over hours enticing, encouraging and inviting over a period of more than 9 hours.
My question....has there ever been a massive letter writing campaign to the nations congressmen to look into these types of cases? I can't help but wonder if we all took a stand and wrote letters and flooded their offices with them, would that made a difference??
So many of us believed in the ERA in the 70's, but I believe it's time for a new ERA....EQUAL RESPONSIBILITY AMENDMENT. If they are truly waging a war on sex crimes then they need to have some 'rules of engagement'.....the person who FIRST sent the text, or picture, or ???, should be the person charged. In too many cases, the "victim is often the predator".
From what I understand Congress will soon be let out for the month of August (?) and the congressmen/women will be heading back to their home states. I plan to write, I hope we can organize this into a national event for families of sex offenders. How do we start? Any Ideas??" ..Source..
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