Anonymous wrote:I do think the punishment should not extend for most of this young man's life, but the fact that he broke the law is no one's fault but his own. If he is blaming a child for his own illegal activity, I can't really feel that sorry for him. I just can't imagine anyone in that age group not being aware of age of consent laws and being very careful to avoid those situations. It really is the responsibility of the adult here to avoid breaking the law, not the child.

What if the girl had a fake ID? If he asked to see the DLs, then isn't he trying to be aware of the law and act accordingly? Are we to presume that everyone should be able to spot a fake ID?

I do think the punishment should not extend for most of this young man's life, but the fact that he broke the law is no one's fault but his own. If he is blaming a child for his own illegal activity, I can't really feel that sorry for him. I just can't imagine anyone in that age group not being aware of age of consent laws and being very careful to avoid those situations. It really is the responsibility of the adult here to avoid breaking the law, not the child.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a DD and DS. The girl bears some responsibility here. Yes, she is only 14. But at that age she knows right from wrong. She's 14, not 7. She lied about her age, and went on an app that is not meant for underage kids. I think girls who do this type of thing should also be punished some how, like doing community service. Poor guy's life is now ruined.

I agree.

And she deliberated represented herself as an older teen.

Physically and behavior wise there is virtually no difference between a 14 year old high school student and a 17 year old high school student (females)

They are much more indistiguishable in most instances than boys of the same age spread.

She needs to be punished and he should be taken off the sex offender registry.

A 14 year old is a child. It does not matter if he or she looks older or acts older or even lies about his or her age. The law takes into account that 14 year olds might do these things and therefore makes it illegal for adults to have sex with them. Our society protects children whom we deem too young to consent to having sex with adults. That's why it is called statutory rape. It is rape because the statute says it is.

Our legislators have voted for these laws because they believe that is what the people they represent want. Different states have different laws. If you would like the state involved here to change their laws, and you are a resident of the state, write to them and ask them to change the law.

Again, it's arbitrary. In MD, a 14 yr old can legally consent, and it's not considered statutory rape if the boy is 4 yrs older or less - so the boy could be 18, a legal adult. Why the disparity in state laws? Is a 14 yr old in MD any more mature than a 14 yr old in a different state?

I'm surprised at how many people don't seem to understand how laws are written and how they work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yes. I think if the older child (it could be a boy or a girl, btw) went through a reasonable amount of steps to confirm the age of the younger person then yes, I don't think the older person should NOT be prosecuted.

The older person in these cases is an adult, not a child. Another child cannot be prosecuted under these laws, only an adult (I.e., 18 or over) is liable. A 19 year old is not a child, he or she is a legal adult.

These laws are in place to protect children. A 14 year old is a child.

18 is an adult but in MD an 18 yo can legally have sex with a 14 yo.

The laws are little wishy washy.

States make their own laws that take into account the wishedps of the residents of each state. States have different laws about driving licenses, too, but we don't call that washy-washy. That's just the way state legislation works.

I am not saying they are wishy washy because they are different. They are wishy washy.

They say a 14 can't consent, but then they say they can sort of if they partner is <4 years older. That is wishy washy.

A 14 yo can be arrested for using a fake id to buy alcohol, but not to obtain sex, ... why not? Isn't the store responsible for knowing that person's age, they are a child and the store clerk is an adult, shouldn't the store clerk be arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor?

A girl can send a naked picture to a boy, that is legal. But if they boy shares it ... it is a sex offense. Wait, that is a law that is gender based, that is unconstitutional. Either they are both sex offenders or neither are.

An under the age of consent girl can also get birth control prescriptions and abortions without parent knowlege and consent in some states, yet they cannot consent to sex with another teenager.

The laws are too wishy washy and inconsistent. And this young man is having his life ruined based on deceipt.

There was an alternative sentencing program the boy was eligible for, but the 67 year old judge refused to let him participate. This was not a mandatory-sex offender registry case. The judge made it that way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're talking about a 14 year old here. I don't care how old she looked, a 14 year old is very, very different from a 19 year old. A 14 year old is still a child in many ways and has the thought processes of a child. I would hope that our society would place the protection of children high on its list of priorities.

Sorry, we're more concerned with making sure men can put their penises where they want consequence-free.

How does the sentence given to this boy protect children?

Cases like this have a deterrence value. It encourages other people to be more careful about making sure the people they're having sex with aren't children.

No it doesn't. That's an old belief, but it's not supported by reality. People who commit crimes are not thinking about consequences.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a DD and DS. The girl bears some responsibility here. Yes, she is only 14. But at that age she knows right from wrong. She's 14, not 7. She lied about her age, and went on an app that is not meant for underage kids. I think girls who do this type of thing should also be punished some how, like doing community service. Poor guy's life is now ruined.

I agree.

And she deliberated represented herself as an older teen.

Physically and behavior wise there is virtually no difference between a 14 year old high school student and a 17 year old high school student (females)

They are much more indistiguishable in most instances than boys of the same age spread.

She needs to be punished and he should be taken off the sex offender registry.

A 14 year old is a child. It does not matter if he or she looks older or acts older or even lies about his or her age. The law takes into account that 14 year olds might do these things and therefore makes it illegal for adults to have sex with them. Our society protects children whom we deem too young to consent to having sex with adults. That's why it is called statutory rape. It is rape because the statute says it is.

Our legislators have voted for these laws because they believe that is what the people they represent want. Different states have different laws. If you would like the state involved here to change their laws, and you are a resident of the state, write to them and ask them to change the law.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yes. I think if the older child (it could be a boy or a girl, btw) went through a reasonable amount of steps to confirm the age of the younger person then yes, I don't think the older person should NOT be prosecuted.

The older person in these cases is an adult, not a child. Another child cannot be prosecuted under these laws, only an adult (I.e., 18 or over) is liable. A 19 year old is not a child, he or she is a legal adult.

These laws are in place to protect children. A 14 year old is a child.

18 is an adult but in MD an 18 yo can legally have sex with a 14 yo.

The laws are little wishy washy.

States make their own laws that take into account the wishedps of the residents of each state. States have different laws about driving licenses, too, but we don't call that washy-washy. That's just the way state legislation works.

I am not saying they are wishy washy because they are different. They are wishy washy.

They say a 14 can't consent, but then they say they can sort of if they partner is <4 years older. That is wishy washy.

A 14 yo can be arrested for using a fake id to buy alcohol, but not to obtain sex, ... why not? Isn't the store responsible for knowing that person's age, they are a child and the store clerk is an adult, shouldn't the store clerk be arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor?

A girl can send a naked picture to a boy, that is legal. But if they boy shares it ... it is a sex offense. Wait, that is a law that is gender based, that is unconstitutional. Either they are both sex offenders or neither are.

Anonymous wrote:I have a DD and DS. The girl bears some responsibility here. Yes, she is only 14. But at that age she knows right from wrong. She's 14, not 7. She lied about her age, and went on an app that is not meant for underage kids. I think girls who do this type of thing should also be punished some how, like doing community service. Poor guy's life is now ruined.

I agree.

And she deliberated represented herself as an older teen.

Physically and behavior wise there is virtually no difference between a 14 year old high school student and a 17 year old high school student (females)

They are much more indistiguishable in most instances than boys of the same age spread.

She needs to be punished and he should be taken off the sex offender registry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yes. I think if the older child (it could be a boy or a girl, btw) went through a reasonable amount of steps to confirm the age of the younger person then yes, I don't think the older person should NOT be prosecuted.

The older person in these cases is an adult, not a child. Another child cannot be prosecuted under these laws, only an adult (I.e., 18 or over) is liable. A 19 year old is not a child, he or she is a legal adult.

These laws are in place to protect children. A 14 year old is a child.

18 is an adult but in MD an 18 yo can legally have sex with a 14 yo.

The laws are little wishy washy.

States make their own laws that take into account the wishedps of the residents of each state. States have different laws about driving licenses, too, but we don't call that washy-washy. That's just the way state legislation works.

Anonymous wrote:

Yes. I think if the older child (it could be a boy or a girl, btw) went through a reasonable amount of steps to confirm the age of the younger person then yes, I don't think the older person should NOT be prosecuted.

The older person in these cases is an adult, not a child. Another child cannot be prosecuted under these laws, only an adult (I.e., 18 or over) is liable. A 19 year old is not a child, he or she is a legal adult.

These laws are in place to protect children. A 14 year old is a child.

18 is an adult but in MD an 18 yo can legally have sex with a 14 yo.

The laws are little wishy washy.

Anonymous wrote:

Yes. I think if the older child (it could be a boy or a girl, btw) went through a reasonable amount of steps to confirm the age of the younger person then yes, I don't think the older person should NOT be prosecuted.

The older person in these cases is an adult, not a child. Another child cannot be prosecuted under these laws, only an adult (I.e., 18 or over) is liable. A 19 year old is not a child, he or she is a legal adult.

These laws are in place to protect children. A 14 year old is a child.

True but the laws are different in every state. I also thing it should be taken into consideration if somebody went to reasonable steps to determine the age of the person they are "dating". For example, if the 12 year old uses her sisters 16 yo id, they look the same. The "adult" does some due diligence and truly believe that he is dating somebody who is of legal age they should not be prosecuted to the full extent.

Besides, the judge in this case did not give him a normal sentence for his offense he went overboard, if you read the article. He did not give him the penalty of a first offender.

In MD a 14 yo can consent to sex as long as the person is not more than 4 years older. So 14 and 18 is fine.

So we agree that a 14 year old is old enough to consent. Also that 14 yo will be arrested for drinking or using a fake id to drink, but why not a fake id for sex???

Yes. I think if the older child (it could be a boy or a girl, btw) went through a reasonable amount of steps to confirm the age of the younger person then yes, I don't think the older person should NOT be prosecuted.

The older person in these cases is an adult, not a child. Another child cannot be prosecuted under these laws, only an adult (I.e., 18 or over) is liable. A 19 year old is not a child, he or she is a legal adult.

These laws are in place to protect children. A 14 year old is a child.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The girl and her mother testified that he shouldn't be placed on a sex offender list.

Doesn't matter. Legally, a 14 year old is incapable of giving consent. A 14 year old is a child.

No kidding, but he did not know this. And if she is trolling for guys on the internet, I'm sure her actions did not seem like that of a 14 yr old to another teenager.
It would be different if it was a 40 year old who was out looking for a 16 yr old.
Geez, I am in my 40's, I have a 9 yr old who is taller than me and folks have thought she was older than she is since she was 2!

Then he shouldn't have had sex with her.

Do I support the sentence he received for having sex with her? No. But I have zero patience with this "but she said she was of age!" business.