I know of a case where the boy was 21 and the girl 17. This violates the 3-yr max age differential where one party is under 18. The parents got the boy sentenced to several years in prison actually tried to get a restraining order to keep them separated after he was released but they left the state and now are legally married. He’s still trying to get the lifetime predator status removed from his records.
I ask you, what do you suppose caused the most trauma in the lives of these kids? Early sex or his encarceration and sex offender labeling?
reread my post
I am in agreement with you.
Mere, by the book zero tolerance on this issue is not, in my view, the correct handling of the issue, because it dismisses any need to understand the facts in the context of the relationship or the context of the incident. Judges should be able to examine all the facts in their context and decide if it is merely a case of two young people who acted prematurely and hastily, together, or was there actual “rape”.
Yes there should be a public record of the judge’s proceedings but I would even go so far as to say the judge should first get the facts from each of the young persons, alone in his chambers, and before any “open court” proceeding, so the teens will be free to tell the judge THEIR truth without any pressure from anyone.