This is about (1) an 'adult' (maybe 'over age of consent' is a better term) sexually assaulting a minor (under age of consent) and (2) a parent of this minor assaulting the young man.
The "teen sex" term is too vague. What would we say about the same situation if the girl was 14? 13? What if the boy was 18? 19? Ages do make a difference but in this case only the fact that one of the two was under the age of consent matters.
It was a crime and I'm convinced this probably would never have been addressed by the authorities if the father didn't beat his face in.
“A discussion about “teen sex” and what should be done about it probably should be on a different thread.”
Your opinion. The term was used in response to suggestions that age of consent laws would discourage teen sex.
Everything else you mention has been discussed, and I’ve asked those same questions and no one has provided answers or opinions. The laws are to protect teens and pre-teens from adults, and that dividing line between adult (age of consent) and too young is different in different states.
My sense is that, among teens, more than three years age difference would put the responsibility on the older boy or girl. But two year age differences are very, very common in teen dating. It probably compensates for the fact that teen girls are ahead of boys in maturity. And I guarantee you the unreported instances of statutory rape among teens a few months to two years age difference runs into a few hundred thousand cases per year nationwide. (about 4 million kids per grade).
Of course this would never have been prosecuted if the father hadn’t drawn attention to it. And as I said earlier, the teens aren’t exactly turning themselves in for breaking the law.
Do you really want tens, or even hundreds of thousands of teens sent to prison every year?