Quote:
Originally Posted by Mile High Mania
My guess is that if these were male teachers and 12 or 16 year old girls, the masses would be all for a public hanging of the male teachers in the town square. Just because they're teenage boys doesn't mean we should look at it through a softer lens.
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I would honestly have the same opinion if the girls were of legal age in that state. Legal age means having the capacity, under the law, to engage in consensual sex. The punishment for that should be firing, and possible prohibition from future teaching positions, NOT jail.
The only other problem I have with statutory rape laws it that sometimes the "bright line" of the age of consent is a problem. If, hypothetically, the age of consent was 18, then an 18 year old boy getting busy with a 17 year old girl would face the exact same legal risks as a 45 year old boy getting it on with a 14 year old girl. Obviously, in sentencing that would be factored in, but the law was the same. At least some states modified their laws to have it reflect reality -- if the age of the two parties was closer, then it was no crime or a lesser crime. I don't know how many states adopted those types of provisions.
IMHO, however, having serious criminal liability for TEACHERS having sex with CONSENTING adults, because they are students, makes no sense.