updated response... sorry for the delay!
Thank you for your replies. JB is in fact serving his time in the detention center, this is his wife – he recently asked me to check his email, and upon finding that he has received replies to his queries, let me answer your questions.
A more detailed explanation:
JB was raised in a strict religious household, as a Jehovah’s Witness. If none of you are familiar with the religion, when a member of the church has an indiscretion, they are subject to being “disfellowshipped.” This basically means that they must behave in a certain manner and follow certain rules until they are allowed back into the normal congregation. They are allowed to attend church services, but are not allowed to have contact with any members of the church (otherwise these members are subject to disfellowship as well).
At the age of 18, JB and a few male friends from the church were overcome by guilt and confessed to drinking and dating on a few occasions (all very innocent by “normal” standards.) All involved were disfellowshipped from the church. One day after a church service, two young women came up to JB and handed him a note. It basically said, “we know you aren’t allowed to talk to us in public, but call us at [number] as we want to get to know you.”
The two young women were sisters, I’ll call them Jane and Lisa. They gave their ages to him as (Jane) 18 and (Lisa) 16. JB did contact them, and met them at their parents home on several occasions. He dated Jane for two months, and his (17 year old) friend dated Lisa. All of the relationships were kept extremely private, as getting caught dating would cause everyone involved to be disfellowshipped from the church. JB was already disfellowshipped, and attempting to get back into the church, although hiding the fact that he was dating Jane.
At some point, he told Jane that he wanted to end the relationship. She was upset at first, then seemed to recover quickly by telling him that her sister was interested in him and that she was interested in the friend that her sister had been dating. One evening, JB took the younger sister out while the older sister entertained his friend. JB and Lisa were fooling around and had just begun to have intercourse when his cell phone rang. It was Lisa’s mother, asking when she’d be home. JB took her home immediately. A short time later he emailed the girls letting them know that he couldn’t keep dating either of them, as he was trying to get back into the church and couldn’t afford to get caught dating anyone.
One month after his 19th birthday, the county police showed up at his home and began asking him questions about Jane. (Had he dated her, had he had sex with her.) He told them that he had, and then they asked if he’d dated and had sex with Lisa. Again he said that he had, and they arrested him for statutory rape. At the police station, one officer mentioned to him that he should’ve asked for a lawyer first, as he’d “seen the girls, and never would’ve guessed how young they were.”
After he was released to his parent’s custody, the girls contacted him via email several times, saying that they “loved him” and were “sorry they lied about their age.” It turned out that Jane was 16, not 18 (but still at the age of consent), and Lisa was 14, not 16. He saved all emails and turned them over to his lawyer, though they did not help his case. Again, mistake of age is not a legal defense for statutory rape. His lawyer was hopeful at first, saying that he handled several cases similar to JB’s, and that he would receive a few years probation at most. As the case lingered on, however, JB’s lawyer made notice that the DA in the case had a 15-year-old daughter and was very harsh on these types of situations.
As JB already stated, he was sentenced to detention time in a military style boot camp, as well as 10 years intensive probation.
The portion of the situation that led us to believe that at the very least the parents should be negligible – the mother (although not the father, who was the one who called the police upon finding out) was aware of what was going on. She knew her 14-year-old daughter was going out with JB, and made no mention that she was against it, or her daughter’s age, for that matter.
JB is now 21, and has not had contact with either girl since getting arrested just after his 19th birthday. The girls, and several of their friends, continue to email him (all emails have been saved). JB has also gotten several emails from someone claiming to be “14 and looking for someone who likes to have sex with little girls” – we believe these emails are coming from the girls’ father.
To whoever asked if a 19-year-old male could tell when a girl is 15 (or younger) – you should see these girls. When I first saw them, *I* was shocked at their young age, and I’m a female myself.
QUOTE: When you date someone you do ask them their age, but if we now have to start saying "provide some proof of that," our society is breeding distrust.
Agreed. JB did ask the girls their age… I don’t know of anyone who goes further to ask to see some proof. None of the circumstances surrounding the situation led him to believe they were under the legal age of consent – the mother’s knowledge and seeming approval. JB simply believed they had to keep the situation quiet because of the religious ramifications. (Their father, as well as HIS father, were both elders in their church).
Perhaps these answers will help with my husband’s query: are the parents of these girls liable (if not the girls themselves?)
Thanks again for your responses.