General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is it okay for a 18 year old to have sex with a 14 year old [View all]Ms. Toad
(34,242 posts)which is moderately elastic to acknowledge the socialization which arises based on how kids are actually grouped for education in a particular community.
And - yes, I am deliberately putting middle school girls or high school girls who like to hang out with older guys in different peer groups from the older guys. If they are close in age, they are unlikely to trigger statutory rape laws (using the term generically). In other words, an 8th grade middle school student fraternizing with a 10th grade high school student is unlikely to trigger a statutory rape law. If they are far apart in age - e.g. that 8th grader dating an 18 year old high school senior - that is precisely when I believe such laws are useful. High school students are in a whole different world from middle school students (as they are, as well, from college students). If you have an adult, who is also in a different peer group from the minor (as I've defined them), I think statutory rape laws have their place
When I don't believe they should be triggered is when we put them together (e.g. 9th grade through 12th grade) and encourage them to fraternize on mock trial team, sports, band, the cheerleading squad, etc., and sometimes even in classes - and then criminalize the relationships which happen to become romantic - and far too often become sexual - merely because one of them is technically an adult.
I don't have a particular problem with including general cutoffs for adults-child relationships, as long as there is an exception if the legal adult happens to be in the same school cluster as the child (most likely either high school - like this case, or college - with 17 year old freshman and an legally adult classmate who may actually only be a few days or weeks older than the legal minor, since not too many adults attend middle school).