I have had clients in this situation where the parents get mad and call the cops on what is, quite honestly, not the type of predatory behavior these laws are intended to prevent. A guy who is 18 dating a 16 year old girl for example. And then if he gets convicted he has to register as a sex offender which carries a whole load of disasters from housing to employment. Frankly, these types of situations do not warrant such drastic punishment and there should be room to take account of the difference between some 50 year old with a 16 year old vs. 2 teenagers.
I agree. I appreciate the comments. It seems to me the type of situation should help determine what’s right or wrong here.
If a guy takes advantage of some girl for pleasure, vise versa, perhaps it should carry more weight. If the two are involved in a real relation ship with the best of intentions, it would certainly seem different to me.
“A guy who is 18 dating a 16 year old girl for example. And then if he gets convicted he has to register as a sex offender”
Why is “dating” and “having sex” equivalent now?
I’d let my daughter date an 18 year old. But she sure as anything may not be having sex with him.
No one is advocating that an 18 year old can’t like or date someone younger than himself. Just that they can’t do it.