In other words, it wasn't "rape" rape, eh Whoopie?
No, it was statutory rape, because a 12 year old in our society is not capable of consenting to sex or really understanding what is happening. But the damage to a 12 year old is not the same.
A 12 or 13 year old girl seduced and statutorily raped by her soccer coach will, with time and effort probably recover emotionally and at least has the possibility of forming normal relationships in the future.
A 12 or 13 year old boy raped by his soccer coach will probably suffer more emotional damage and take longer to recover, due to the homosexual nature of the rape, they may recover and have a normal life, but it will be harder.
A 7 or 8 year boy or girl old raped by their soccer coach may never fully recover, and will have a lot more psychological damage and will never have a truly normal life. That’s why it is worse.
A 4 year old raped by an adult will be probably be severely damaged for the rest of their life.
The younger a person is when abused, the greater the damage. That is why the distinction between before and after puberty is important.
Distinctions between degrees of evil are not irrelevant.
Rape of an adult female - very evil.
Rape of an underage but post-pubescent female - even more evil.
Rape of a pre-pubescent child - most evil of all.
Why people take the common-sense observation that C is worse than A or B to imply that A or B therefore not so bad as all that is beyond me.
Here’s an example you might be able to comprehend.
It’s worse to murder two people than one person. That doesn’t mean I’m saying it’s ok to murder one person.