Many States have ‘romeo and juliet’ provisions that would avoid this sort of ridiculous notion that sex between a 17 year old and a 15 year old is legal the day before the 17 year old’s birthday - and illegal the day after.
I have heard that this is usually not prosecuted UNLESS the parents of the younger partner object. So any ‘just turned 18 years old’ person with an underage partner had better be REAL NICE to that partner's parents.
While I am all for protecting “children” I am not sure something magical happens at 18 that suddenly turns a “child” into an “adult” - I think the law should reflect this is some capacity.
I am not saying I disagree with you here, but I do think you are changing the subject just a little bit. According to the article. Kaitlyn Hunt was already 18 years old when the relationship began. The victim was 15, not 17.
If you are ok with the number 15, where do you draw the line? Would it have been ok if the other girl was 13? In this case, obviously, the younger girl's parents were not ok with it. They were the ones who called the police.