The word “rape” has lost all meaning in Western society lol. Sure this was wrong (because one of the parties was underage), but it wasn’t “rape” because it was consensual.
Bruh I’ve been 16. At that age, we still voluntarily flirt with adults. I’ll agree that adults have a responsibility to not hook up with minors, but they’re completely aware of what they’re doing.
That’s the “statutory” part of statutory rape. We as society recognize that power imbalance and grooming are potential scenarios, and can have a less powerful/younger person consenting to something they otherwise would not.
For example, if a cop has someone in handcuffs. We as society recognize that there is an inherent power imbalance, and that the person in handcuffs may be pressured into agreeing to things that they otherwise would not.
Or as another example, if a child is groomed by an adult. We recognize that children are easier to manipulate, and can be groomed to agree to things that they would not have done without being manipulated.
And so society writes criminal laws (statutes) that define these various scenarios, and courts then interpret these statutes and apply them to individual cases as rulings. And if the courts find that a person has violated these laws, the person is guilty of rape by statute. Statutory rape.
For example, maybe a state has a law saying that an adult having sex with a child is considered rape, unless that adult is within 3 years of age with the child. So an 18 year old high school senior won’t get in trouble for banging a 16 year old high school junior. But a 35 year old would be guilty of statutory rape.
The word “rape” has lost all meaning in Western society lol. Sure this was wrong (because one of the parties was underage), but it wasn’t “rape” because it was consensual.
A 16 year old cannot consent to sexual acts with sokeone in that Situation - especially given power dynamics and alcohol being involved
Bruh I’ve been 16. At that age, we still voluntarily flirt with adults. I’ll agree that adults have a responsibility to not hook up with minors, but they’re completely aware of what they’re doing.
That’s the “statutory” part of statutory rape. We as society recognize that power imbalance and grooming are potential scenarios, and can have a less powerful/younger person consenting to something they otherwise would not.
For example, if a cop has someone in handcuffs. We as society recognize that there is an inherent power imbalance, and that the person in handcuffs may be pressured into agreeing to things that they otherwise would not.
Or as another example, if a child is groomed by an adult. We recognize that children are easier to manipulate, and can be groomed to agree to things that they would not have done without being manipulated.
And so society writes criminal laws (statutes) that define these various scenarios, and courts then interpret these statutes and apply them to individual cases as rulings. And if the courts find that a person has violated these laws, the person is guilty of rape by statute. Statutory rape.
For example, maybe a state has a law saying that an adult having sex with a child is considered rape, unless that adult is within 3 years of age with the child. So an 18 year old high school senior won’t get in trouble for banging a 16 year old high school junior. But a 35 year old would be guilty of statutory rape.