Should a 13-Year-Old and Her 12-Year-Old Partner Really Be Considered Sex Offenders?

[alp227]

by Martha Kempner, RH Reality Check

October 1, 2013 - 5:19 pm

Last Tuesday, the Utah Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that should make us once again reconsider our age-of-consent laws. In 2003, an unnamed 13-year-old girl had “consensual sex” with her then-12-year-old boyfriend. The state learned of this relationship when she became pregnant, filing delinquency petitions against both teens for having committing sexual abuse of a child. The young woman, who is now 23, wants the court to overturn the finding of delinquency. She and her attorney are arguing that she can’t be both the victim and the perpetrator of the exact same crime. Moreover, they say that she is not being treated fairly under the law because older teens are not prosecuted for engaging in sexual activity with someone of a similar age. The state, however, is not backing down, saying that it has an interest in protecting children, even if it is from other children.

As RH Reality Check has reported in the past, age-of-consent laws in this country vary by state and can be quite complicated. The specifics of each state’s law can result in some cases in which seemingly consensual relationships between teenagers (say a 15-year-old sophomore and her 18-year-old senior boyfriend) become criminal cases. Though the government has an interest in protecting teenagers from sexual exploitation, such cases must make us question whether criminalizing teen sex is the way to go, especially because the laws are unevenly enforced, often at the whim of an angry parent or overzealous law enforcement official.

The case in Utah is particularly disturbing because the teens in question were so young; while there may be disagreement among adults about whether 15- or 16-year-olds are mature enough for sexual relationships, most everyone agrees that 12- and 13-year-olds are not. Still, should too young automatically mean criminal? I would argue that very young teens who have sex do need adult intervention, but I don’t think those adults should be police officers, lawyers, and judges.

full: http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/10/01/should-a-13-year-old-and-her-12-year-old-partner-really-be-considered-sex-offenders/

Meanwhile I wonder if their PARENTS ever got any convictions for negligence? Shouldn't these kids have been taken to treatment instead, maybe taken away from their parents?

[Egalitarian Thug]

1. Can't wait for this one...

[bunnies]

2. They were guility of sexually abusing each other?

Thats got to be one of the most insane things Ive ever heard.

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. No. They need counseling, not criminal convictions and scarlet letters.

[Rex]

4. +1

nt.

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. Maybe the court should consult the NFL rule book.

"Offsetting penalties"

[BainsBane]

6. Most consent laws are written to accommodate for an age differential

States vary, however.

[treestar]

7. Separate laws would be needed for this sort of thing

They should not be considered victims and perpetrators of each other - some way to cite them for it that just goes against each of them for it. Maybe just make it against the law to have sex until some age.

[pnwmom]

8. No, there's no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water.

This case is not a reason to reconsider age-of-consent laws in general. It's an excellent reason to change Utah's stupid law that would charge two kids both as victims and as perpetrators.

They were neither, just two kids fooling around (unfortunately), and neither should have been charged.

[Arkansas Granny]

9. Filing charges in this case was ludicrous.

Once a child reaches puberty, society may say that they are not mature enough for sexual relationships, but Mother Nature has an entirely different message. Does anyone here remember being a teenager? The best thing is to start the conversations about relationships early, keep the lines of communication open and hope that the kids make good decisions.

Filing charges against the parents or taking the children from the home would be an over the top reaction, in my mind. At that age, teens who wish to do something behind their parent's backs will find a way to do so. You cannot supervise them every waking moment.