You're missing the point...the boys were "of age." That being consent. As disgusting as it is, they weren't boys, but young men, who knew exactly what they were talking about.
Am I on the right forum? Is this the FreeRepublic of the "evil universe" like in some wierd Star Trek episode? These boys were legally underage. Period.
No I am not missing the point. I happen to know several men who were molested at age 15 and 16 by a prominent figure...Predators know how to pick kids who are not very sophisticated... they go for the boys who maybe have parents who are divorced, who need affirmation and approval and attention..Do you know any 16 year old boys ? They are not grown men... Predators like Mark Foley "groom" their prey... They don't start out coming on to them. It starts out with attention, then presents, favors... The boy ( who usually is unsure of himself, and from a troubled family and maybe doesn't have a father) is hooked.. By the time the predator moves in for the kill, the boy trusts the predator. They know on one level that something is wrong, but on another level, they're confused because the guy was their friend. This is how people like child psychiatrists, priests, high school football coaches.. 16 is not a grown men.
Everybody should go to the website of www.malesurvivor.org and read the discussion board. Plenty of men there who were molested as teenagers are talking about this scandal. If you haven't been molested, you really can't imagine what it's like. Go educate yourself on the MO's of molesters,please !
And then you add in that Foley was a powerful political figure
U.S. Code
TITLE 18
PART I
CHAPTER 110 —SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND OTHER ABUSE OF CHILDREN
§ 2256. Definitions for chapter
For the purposes of this chapter, the term—
(1) “minor” means any person under the age of eighteen years;