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The conversation is regarding the unintended consequences of our laws, not the morality of sex at that age.
I think we can all relate to what it was like being 16 and having a surge of hormone soup flow through our bodies. The debate surrounds the court's decision to prosecute a 16 year old as a sex offender. Should a young person have to wear that stigma, be separated from his family, chastised by the community for an act that, right or wrong, has been happening since the beginning of time?
I think our sex offender laws are appropriate when intent can be proven. The major failure here is that the justice system did not prove intent and the law failed this young person.
The response so far is interesting, to say the least. I want to know if people think the justice system let this kid down. Forget for a moment about the inherent immorality of the act itself. Did the punishment fit the crime?
Ricky was initially interviewed by the police without access to legal counsel. His parents were not afforded legal counsel during questioning. After prosecution, a court officer informed Ricky and his family that he had concerns because he was living with his brother, who was only 10 years old. Ricky had to carry an ID that said "Sex Offender" on it.
I am not condoning teenage sex here. What I find deplorable is when the law in our country goes haywire and a line is drawn at the wrong place in the sand. I encourage anyone who is interested in commenting on this case to listen to the link I provided. It's about a 15 minute segment.
Last edited by Spraynard Kruger; 02-15-2010 at 12:12 PM..
Location: Prescott Valley,az summer/east valley Az winter
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then you must also consider the laws that turn young girls and guys into registered sex offenders because of this sexting thing they seem to consider appropriate. Both sides are deviant because the girls send child pornography and the guys have it on their phones~ it brands them for life!
It should not surprise us anymore that the U.S. is grooming sexual predators/offenders at an early age --- afterall, everywhere they turn fornication and adultery are promoted as a viable favorite pastime in conjunction with the demeaning views of women that accompany it. The 16 year old boy AND girl were sex offenders because sexual immorality before marriage is sexual deviance ... but we all knew that inherently ; its just that most of us became so desensitized to it that its now looked upon as the norm .
I am neutral on your opinion regarding sex before marriage. Do you think that the young people involved deserve to be prosecuted under the law and need to register for the rest of their lives as sexual offenders (i.e Rapists, Child Molesters, Predators) because of their acts? Are you familiar with the requirements of a Tier 3 sex offender?
The conversation is regarding the unintended consequences of our laws, not the morality of sex at that age.
I think we can all relate to what it was like being 16 and having a surge of hormone soup flow through our bodies. The debate surrounds the court's decision to prosecute a 16 year old as a sex offender. Should a young person have to wear that stigma, be separated from his family, chastised by the community for an act that, right or wrong, has been happening since the beginning of time?
I think our sex offender laws are appropriate when intent can be proven. The major failure here is that the justice system did not prove intent and the law failed this young person.
The response so far is interesting, to say the least. I want to know if people think the justice system let this kid down. Forget for a moment about the inherent immorality of the act itself. Did the punishment fit the crime?
Ricky was initially interviewed by the police without access to legal counsel. His parents were not afforded legal counsel during questioning. After prosecution, a court officer informed Ricky and his family that he had concerns because he was living with his brother, who was only 10 years old. Ricky had to carry an ID that said "Sex Offender" on it.
I am not condoning teenage sex here. What I find deplorable is when the law in our country goes haywire and a line is drawn at the wrong place in the sand. I encourage anyone who is interested in commenting on this case to listen to the link I provided. It's about a 15 minute segment.
To me the unintended consequenses have some long term damage in our society.
I have been thinking abou this for a good while. I realize that younger and younger men and women are engaging in behavior that in the past was considered adult behavior. I am involved in community volunteer programs and I have noticed how they are younger and younger.
I am not talking for or against sexual behavior in the moral sense. What I do think is that branding a young men and woman for acting on their natural desire for sex the way are now will simply affect us as a society in more ways than we can imagine.
Actually, I have been thinking that maybe later in life I may do some deep research on the subject and write a book. The title I already have should I make up my mind to write. It would be entitled "The Consequences of a Zero Tolerance Society".
We can start branding young men and women for behavior that much of it has to do with their age of inquiry and curiosity as part of growing up. Should they engage in sex at younger and younger ages? Well, maybe it is not smart to do so but the fact is that they are doing so. To some degree we as a society, adults are allowing this more and more and we are paying the consequences in many ways.
However, the fact is that many of them will grow up and will mature and will try to live a good life and may even look back and wished they behaved differently.
Now, a couple like the OP example grow up. Let us say he got branded as a sex offender. What are his job opportunities out there once a potential employer finds out he is registered as a sex offender? What if he applies to serve in the Armed Forces? What is he applies for a federal job?
Now, let is say he cannot get those types of jobs because is a registered sex offender?
How many like him may give up on education because hope for a decent job are very limited? How many of them will resort to crime becuase after all they are labeled criminals for the rest of their lives?
How will society pay the price in higher crimes from these individuals in the future because they do not see a brighter future for them?
How many of them will be rejected by parents and women and jobs?
How much will rejections around them will affect them and resort to whatever means to make it in life even if it means to illegal acitivities?
What many of them will simply one day explode and commit some mass massacre because they feel society does not care for them anymore?
Having sex is not a crime per say. It means satisfying a natural need we all have. We as a society have come up with restrictions on how old you need to be to have sex but remember that in yesteryears young men and women were allowed to get married much younger than we now do. Society has changed and men and women do not seem to be prepared for marriage by their parents and parents used to do in the past. OK, so we put an age requirement but that does not negate the nature desire to have sex.
I simply believe we are going to pay a high price as a society further in the future.
Some officials and/or family members have an "agenda". There was another case recently of an 18 year old boy convicted of having (consentual) sex with his 17 year old girl friend. They were both HS students and had been dating for a while. Agenda? Prosecuting a ONE YEAR age difference of HS students? Maybe because the boy was black and the girl was white in this case? Think about it. In some states, age of consent is 18 for both genders. Imagine all the "sex offenders" they would have prosecuting HS students having consentual sex? I have a paralegal degree and a DA professor once told us they generally go on a case by case basis with this, not a blanket application of the law. Foremost, they use the consent factor and just not based on legal consent age. Then they go with age difference of those involved. Generally, they use a 3 year age difference as the max.
To the other poster, who started talking about sex before "marriage", would you advocate throwing 20, 30, or 40 year olds into jail for having "illicit" consentual sex also? You wouldn't have room in all the jails in the country to hold these "sex offenders".
As with Prohibition, you cannot legistate certain forms of morality. You cannot change society by legislation. All you will do is make criminals out of ordinary citizens.
To me the unintended consequenses have some long term damage in our society.
I have been thinking abou this for a good while. I realize that younger and younger men and women are engaging in behavior that in the past was considered adult behavior. I am involved in community volunteer programs and I have noticed how they are younger and younger.
Be careful when you draw cause and effect relationships based on the coincidence of two phenomena. There may or may not be a cause and effect. Even if there is, how are you sure that teens are not having sex more BECAUSE the adults have screwed up the world so bad, and not the other way around.
The sexual revolution and the Viet Nam war took place at about the same time. Which one caused the other?
When I think of the term "sex offender", I picture several things:
A nasty middle aged man stalking children outside of a middle school as classes let out for the day.
A guy who whips out his penis on a busy street corner and begins masturbating in front of everybody.
A caretaker in a nursing home molesting incapacitated elderly patients.
This is just another example of the ignorance of our justice system. This boys life is now ruined for a long time to come. Why not go for the gusto and charge the girl with that label as well. I mean, after all, the boy was a child too! We all know how persuasive women can be, right!!!
Again, there are no laws against thinking whatever you like about my daughter.. . . . What I argued with was your statement that you can be punished for sexual thoughts. You cannot.
And adult male can be arrested for sitting his car watching your daughter walking home from school, if he does it repeatedly after she complains. An adult male can be arrested for photographing your daughter in her school uniform, and putting it up on his wall. That, amazingly, is called "child porn", and your daughter is the model.
When I think of the term "sex offender", I picture several things:
A nasty middle aged man stalking children outside of a middle school as classes let out for the day.
A guy who whips out his penis on a busy street corner and begins masturbating in front of everybody.
A caretaker in a nursing home molesting incapacitated elderly patients.
This is just another example of the ignorance of our justice system. This boys life is now ruined for a long time to come. Why not go for the gusto and charge the girl with that label as well. I mean, after all, the boy was a child too! We all know how persuasive women can be, right!!!
I think this post has the best approach to look at these kinds of things.
Is a 18 year old and a 15 or even a 14 year old girl dating worth sending someone to jail over? Is a 16 and 13 year old girl?
Where is the line here? Was someone hurt? Was she drunk, how about him?
Common sense laws are what we need. Somewhere, someone decided that these things should be black and white, when most of the time there is a grey area that we need to base our decision on. Some mother, somewhere got upset because her 13 year old daughter had consensual sex with someone 4 years older than her.
These matters should be taken on a case by case basis, and thats it. Some people aren't going to be happy with the decision thats rendered. Sorry dad, your daughter had sex at 14, should have raised her better. Now, if she was molested by a 30 year old man, then there is something that needs to be done about that.
And adult male can be arrested for sitting his car watching your daughter walking home from school, if he does it repeatedly after she complains. An adult male can be arrested for photographing your daughter in her school uniform, and putting it up on his wall. That, amazingly, is called "child porn", and your daughter is the model.
Those are actions.
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