Illegal Or Just Creepy? The Complicated History of Age of Consent
Our legal understanding of what the age of consent should be is shaped by the moral viewpoints on sexuality at any given time. Outdated concepts like the idea that statutory rape is only something men do to young girls have been swapped out in favor of the idea that statutory rape is something an adult does to a vulnerable younger person.
These protections have improved but are still far from perfect. It’s hard to say who’s vulnerable, when our ideas about age and maturity are subjective. For example, parents can leverage the current legal system to separate young people in relationships if one person is 18 years old and the other is underage. If the young person who is the “victim” in this case wants to stop a prosecution, they can’t.
“The state takes over once the case has started,” Cocca said. “So you can have a relatively young person in a consensual relationship being on a sex offender registry, which affects where they work, where they live. If they can go to a daycare, be near a school, all that kind of stuff.”
I call bullshit on the final words as if 1 day, week, or year between 17 and 18 will truly define one’s intellect as an adult. Sure they may be wiser, but there is a huge difference between being wiser, and simply being smart and intelligent. So, again consent laws are just a double edge blade.
I saw a court case that was weird and interesting. The “victim” had a birthday and the charges were based on being one day away from a harsher charge. The courts and lawyers were arguing if your birthday starts at 12:01 am of the day for everyone regardless of what time you were born or the actual time.
The attorney stated, that if his client turned the drinking age at 12:01 am and went into a store with his I.D, the clerk does not ask for the birth certificate to make sure it is the correct time of day, but looks at the date and allows the purchase.
“Age of Consent”? I was in the US Navy at seventeen…yet I could not ‘consent’. Makes no sense to me. I have seen 15 year olds who are more mature than 25 year olds.
And yet you were allowed to drink as long as you were on base.
At that time, only ‘near beer’.
🤔 But WE are the ones on a Registry!?
httpss://www.tulsaworld.com/communities/owasso/news/repeat-dui-offender-crashes-car-into-collinsville-school-bus-while/article_903faea7-4f7a-5d49-a717-709b9c1a642f.html
Does FAC take a position on age of consent laws? I’m not aware that any of us wants to see them changed, other than to treat Romeo-and-Juliet offenses more carefully done others (and maybe bring laws more in line with Federal).
*”more carefully than some others” damn my autocomplete
Meanwhile, there are a lot of politicians who want to reduce the age of voting from 18 to 16 on the basis that 16 year olds are mature enough to vote. But wait, they aren’t mature enough to consent to sex? Libtartism 101!
The first time I heard that was when I was in high school (graduated in 1991); the great state of FLORIDA wanted to reset the voting age to 17 at that time for the same reasons you just posted.
Here here
They charge as adult and execute under 18 I’m America.
Whether legal or illegal, the responsibility should fall on adults not to sexualize young people.
If you see what turns out to be a “young person” at a distance and take notice of their attractiveness, are you not just being naturally attracted to someone who looks good in your eyes?
At my job there are GROWN WOMEN who many stand all of 4’11” tall. And slender build as well. From behind, you’d think they were children and you’d feel disgusted to look at them sexually. Then they turn around and you can see in their faces that they are matured women.
So now we’re at a time of making MEN (cuz feminists have to persecute us at all costs) feel bad about noticing someone’s physical appearance? Whatever.
Because if the only thing stopping an adult from lusting after a legal minor is the single day between 17 and 18 years old, there’s a moral deficit that goes beyond our legal system.
There is no “deficit” of morality if there’s a SINGLE DAY!!! Ok, I’m really getting pissed now…
My opinion on this is not a popular one but it’s at least a valid one and here goes.. here’s the answer to this writer’s burning desire to know why men would wait until an underage female is legal age… ready?….
IT’S CALLED NATURE, YOU IDIOT!
Pardon me for sounding as if I am promoting the idea of chasing after underage girls (or boys) but let’s have a taste of reality for a moment; Many people who are a year or a few months shy of the state’s legal age are already PHYSICALLY ATTRACTIVE. That’s why you have men (even those hardass fathers who claim they’d kill anyone who touches their daughters) looking at those attractive girls in their tight shorts and yoga pants but then taking a step back and saying “oh shit! She’s too young”.
NATURE! So sorry for all the folks who can’t handle the NATURAL ORDER of things in life.
I’m really sick of this lie that men live by on how they’d “never do that with a young girl”. Said probably every person who got themselves in trouble for being with a young teenage female. I said the same thing. When I was 15-30 I was always attracted to older women. The I met a female who was a year under legal age. She looked like Naomi Campbell so I went for it. So much for my own lie to myself that “I would never”. I’m not perfect, nor are the men and women who leave horrible comments on news articles about people with sexual offenses.
There is nothing wrong with you. Don’t think for 1 second that there is.
What is wrong are the pricks who can’t mind their own business, ie. The Morality Police. This country is a joke, clearly built on Puritan values.
Overseas you have older older with younger women/girls and nobody Gives A Damn because they don’t have as many idiots as here who assume, “Oh he Must be abusing her because he’s older”. The GIRL also has a say in the matter. Nobody has forced her to do anything against her own will, and she’s a human being with a brain in her head capable of making decisions.
In the USA, it’s OK if you’re a guy who’s into boys or guys, because homosexuality is protected Now, but God Forbid you find a female attractive that doesn’t perfectly fit without the confines of what the Morality Police finds acceptable.
These are all opinions at the end of the day right? None of this matters. What DOES matter is the Scientific Fact that people even Under 18 are fully capable of making decisions. This is backed by scientific evidence. PERIOD. Yes a younger person has a higher tendency to be impulsive. That’s IT. That’s the scientific difference. The US needs to stop making out any young person (specifically girls) into Infants that are incapable of rational thought or decision making. If anything, a guy with experience would actually help prevent a younger girl from making tons of stupid mistakes that she would otherwise, as he has more life experience, assuming he means well for her.
There are too many intelligent people who understand all of this. Don’t let the idiots in this country dictate their morals onto you. If you’re not being malicious to the person you find attractive, and if you keep the law in mind, then don’t for a second question your actions.
To think, we have “Godly Beings” in 2020 that dictate who YOU should find attractive. The damn NERVE. People like that need to sit the hell down, shut their mouths on the topic and mind their business finally. Nobody is questioning their piss poor choices in life, partners, or what they find attractive, because God knows they aren’t golden themselves.
Thank you. When I think about this idea of “grooming” I can’t help but realize that “grooming” is done in ALL situations of attraction.
When a grown man meets a grown woman, what does he do? He tries to impress her to get her to go on a date. What does he do on the date? Usually agrees with everything she says even if he doesn’t fully agree. Talk about himself in a way that attempts to get her interested. Buys the dinner, drinks, event tickets or whatever it is they go on a date to do.
This is ALL “grooming”. So when we’re talking about POST pubescent teens who are at least old enough to operate a motor vehicle, this “grooming” process is just the same as with a 25 yr old woman. It’s a NATURAL INSTINCT to try to impress someone for our own benefit. That benefit is that we score the romantic partner we’re seeking.
So, in all the states that are not legal age of 16, they’re telling us that this 16 yr old male or female can run the risk of vehicular manslaughter because they drive like idiots but are somehow capable of driving, but the same 16 yr old couldn’t possibly make a relationship decision if the other person is older??? WHAT!!??
Grooming an adult is legal and acceptable. Grooming a minor is not.
This ain’t hard, y’all.
You misunderstand the meaning of age of consent. It has nothing to do with noticing a teenager who is developed as an adult. Instead, it refers to acting on such an attraction, engaging in sexual activity with them.
In Florida it is illegal for an adult to engage in sexual activity with a minor who is four or more years younger than them. The presumption being that the minor is not in a position to consent, and they could be harmed. It is not illegal to notice them (though it’s probably a good idea not to stare). Does anybody here really disagree with this?
With all due respect— I’m not trying to sound like I’m attacking any one individual.
Yes we are aware of the laws and I hope people follow them for their own good. Following laws also doesn’t mean that the person agrees with each word or point of the law.
Many laws have good intentions, yet still screw over a lot of normal people. Actually, many laws can be categorized into such a situation.
If people were more familiar with history they would see how many asinine laws existed years ago which people followed like the Word of God, the same laws which we no longer have or follow.
Oral sex being illegal in some states? Black people couldn’t ride in buses or use certain facilities? These were all Laws at one point and just the tip of the iceberg.
True but I don’t think anyone here actually disagrees with having age of consent laws.
Maestro, thank god for someone with some damn sense. You just said what ive wanted to for a long time. Theres a reason marriage used to be around the age of 13-15. It was a common concept. If youre attracted to obviously prepubescent kids, then yea theres a problem. But as im sure all of us have seen and realized, plenty of 18-25 year old women can look “16”. This whole idea of a legal age, in one degree is ok, but then to throw down the hammer on someone, hell if the kid is 18 and she is 15 or 16, and the punishment is what it is today to be a severe as it is, is just morally and should be constitutionally wrong
I also feel there should be a standard age of consent across all 50 states so there is no issue. Some states it is 16, some 17, some 18. Years ago some states were 15 (depending on the other persons age)
Countries are even worse. Some as high as 21 and some as low as 13.
I am not making a statement off what the age should be but at least in the U.S there should be a clear age. The reason, some 18 year old guy who could date his high school crush who is 16 in one state, could maybe get arrested in another (Yes I know some have age gap exceptions)
When I was 23 I looked 15. No one my age wanted to date me because I looked so young and the ones who would were 15. Was damned if you do and damned if you don’t
Most people already assume the legal age for sex is 18 across the board because they don’t bother to learn anything. And thanks to the porn industry, Playboy and stripper bars. So therefore, people in all 50 states assume the magic age is 18.
The fly in that ointment is that some people are more mature than others. I’ve known teenagers who are/were far more mature than their parents.
Nature has already decided when a person is ready to have sex – puberty, the age of which will vary. Some go through it at 10 or 11, others at 15 or 16. Every person decides for him or herself when they are ready for a sexual relationship, not society (forcible rape, of course, is a whole different thing).
I’m not saying sex between adults and post-pubescent teenagers is right or should be criminal. I’m only saying that the legal presumption that teenagers are too immature or stupid to decide if they want to have sex or not is misguided. That many decisions they make may be unwise or disagreeable doesn’t mean they are mentally incapable of making their own choices.
This is shown by prosecutors always attempting to try teenagers as adults for various crimes, Then, the teenager is perfectly mature enough to understand his wrongdoing and appreciate the consequences of such. Even in rapes and sexual assaults, though the teenager is just too stupid to decide whether or not he wants to have sex.
Dirty little secret – Teenagers want sex. Many are sexually active and those that aren’t really, really want to be, regardless of their upbringing. Has everyone forgotten their own teenage years?
Also interesting in Michigan is how the sex offender laws are written regarding school teachers. The general age of consent here is 16, but a teacher can’t engage in sex with a student in the same school district regardless of the student’s age. However, it is perfectly legal for a teacher to have a relationship with a 16-year-old student who attends school in a district other than where the teacher works. So if identical twin brothers who were both teachers worked in different school districts, it would be legal for one brother to have a sexual relationship with the 16-year-old girl next door, but not for the other brother. Even if only one of the twin brothers was a teacher, the teacher could go to prison for 15 years for having sex with an 18-year-old neighbor who happens to attend school in that district, whereas his brother could legally have sex with the 16-year-old sister of that student.
FAC
Thank You for presenting this article. I’ve commented on the subject in the past but I didn’t have the facts to back up my comments. Jen here did an excellent job of researching the subject. As Jen explained age of consent has meant different things at different times in history. Changes have not always been for the better. When power is taken away from the heads of the family and put into the hands of the state it only leads to a deterioration of family and that is never a good thing.
The conglomeration of state laws is a total screwed up bowl of poop. Adding laws on top of laws is not progress it’s just an example of politicians failure.
at the same time when an underage person misrepresents there age and engages in a relationship with an older person and the older person gets in trouble they should be able to use that as part of there defense after all even the club left the underage person in with there fake ID
In Georgia (and presumably most other states), the law says the state has the burden to prove that a defendant had intent – that is, he knew what he was doing was a crime and made a conscious decision to commit it. If intent is absent, it’s the jury’s call if a crime was intentionally committed.
While lack of knowledge of age is not a defense, it certainly does go to whether or not the person had intent. I would think in cases of where a person had sexual contact with someone and didn’t discover until later that the person was under the age of consent, there was no intent.
I don’t think I’ve ever run across a jury trial transcript where the jury was charged on the intent element. I’ve come to believe that is by design, to ensure the jury finds guilt, particularly in sex offense cases.
Nowadays just trying to be a decent human being toward another human being is looked upon as ‘grooming’. Sometimes a hug to show acceptance or a welcoming gesture is nothing more than that. Has our society gotten so paranoid that such actions are to put one’s character in question? When I coached soccer I might hug a kid…boy or girl…just to show appreciation for their effort to contribute to the team play…nothing more and it was taken as nothing more. The term ‘grooming’ is a terrible use of words to keep people from relating with each other. Politicians have turned good relationships into deviant actions just to make voters think they stand for something that is protecting society when in fact it is doing just the opposite. When my teachers hugged me I felt appreciated…not preyed upon.
Capt. Muncey
Your words are well spoken. I make it a point to not hug anyone anymore because of that ,except for my wife , kids ,and grand-kids. Because of being on the registry everyone else take it wrong.
I was at what I thought was a friends house. He is very ill with little time to live. His daughter was there whom I hadn’t seen for about 12 yrs. she is about 30 now and has 3 kids. It was really good to see her after so many years. Not thinking I gave her a hug. There in front of her mother. After I left I guess everything blew up. She was extremely upset that a SO would hug her. Her mother started calling friends letting them know how terrible that was and how terrible I was to do such a terrible thing. She wanted other people I knew to let me know about it so I would never do such a terrible thing again.
This is the situation we are in.
For hundreds of years younger girls, 15+ were urged to find a husband that was stable, 30+ years old so that he was mature enough to take care of her and the family they made. Now all of a sudden within a few decades the powers that be want all that to change. I am just asking if that has been the best thing for our society? I am not talking about the true sexual offenses, those are wrong no mattet what. I was 15, my husband at the time 29, I went after him because I knew I would never find a better guy in my lifetime. We have been together for 20+ years and have grown children, but will for the rest of our lives have to deal with a label on him. A label that NEVER should have been attached to anyone other than those that truly did horrible things to children.