I'll accept that. I did use it in the generic sense such as; statutory rape.
but before a final judgment is rendered, there are no facts that would show it to not be classifiable as rape either. We do not have the facts of the actual act here for review (nor am I suggesting OP present them) but a very small bit of fact can give rise to a charge of rape.
I suspect that if she had been held at knife point or forced down we would have heard about it.
But, understand that even forcible RAPE would not necessarily require a person (even a parent) to report it in CA.
I see the crime involved as no less damaging to the victim and actually, the sex crime could cause a much greater injury due to psychological damage.
One (the unlawful sexual intercourse) is a consensual act that is unlawful due solely to age, the others - murder and battery - are violent acts perpetrated upon the victim. Apples and oranges.
Psychological effects are not accounted for in those offenses and thus cannot be considered in the legal evaluation of the elements of the offense. Besides, a child can be traumatized for a great many things that are not crimes, so that cannot be the standard by which we evaluate the objective elements of a criminal offense.
as I said, I am not concerned with the mandatory reporter laws. They were put in place for specific reasons. I am talking about a guardians duty to protect their charge. Very different justifications.
And the law does not require a parent to report this any more than it would require them to report their child's laptop computer was stolen. Both might be felonies, but no legal duty to report is attached.
Let's not extend it out a bit. You are in a not all that common situation due to your job and being a parent. It is not applicable to the majority of the populace of your state. I agree it presents some problems but that is not the case here.
It is much the same. If parents would be required to report any criminal offense reported to them by their child or a child's friend, etc., then how could they parent or ever be open to their child. You'd be having to speak to your child in the third person or hypothetically.
"Okay, Sarah ... uh ... let's say your 'friend' - we'll call her Jane - was having sex with an eighteen year old guy we'll call, Sam ..."
Do you want that? I don't. And, fortunately, the mandatory reporting laws do NOT apply to us when we are not engaged in our professional capacities, so the obligation no longer exists when I am at home and off duty.
That might be the million dollar question and unless they live so far apart that there is little to no chance of them seeing each other, yes, it happening again is a possibility. Whether it is a likelihood is a different question that cannot be answered by facts submitted.
But unless the father is actively assisting, aiding, or abetting the illegal activity, or allowing the daughter to cat around all night long, attaching even misdemeanor child neglect charges to him would be extremely tough.
I guess we will simply have to believe the 14 yo that she will never have any contact with the adult ever again. Obviously I do not know all of the facts of the situation but a 14 yo's claim that they will never see each other again is probably as dependable as when she promised dad she would not have premarital sex or any other promises concerning serious matters that have been broken.
And I tend to agree. She probably lied once about the relationship, it is likely she will lie again. (Refer back to my first two posts)
But, in a discussion of what the LAW says, he is not culpable given the information provided and the likely scenario present here.
I disagree. If you cannot counsel your children so they understand why this needs to be reported to the police and the child needs to continue to disclose such activities to you is something you need to deal with. That is a failure in parenting itself in my eyes, not something the state should be blamed for.
Wow, that's some choice ... or no choice. Either you report everything to the police, or you are guilty of neglect ... but the law doesn't say you have to report it, but effectively you do?
Thank God it doesn't work that way.
The law, as it currently stands, does not require a parent to report a crime against their child in most instances and in most states. Whether that is right or wrong is a values based decision and not a legal one.
that may be, or maybe not. I'm not inclined to prove it one way or the other. I am sure that a very slight additional amount of fact might easily make it required to be reported; Facts that may be present in this situation although not disclosed.
Having seen many hundreds of similar cases over the years, and working nearly identical cases a few times each year, I can tell you from experience that the scenario as posted is likely how it is. Very often the guy gets what he wants (sex) and leaves. If the girl wants to be with him, she fights with mom and dad, she sneaks out and runs away, etc. I suspect that would have been mentioned here. But, even then, dad has no requirement to report the sexual activity, and just TRY to make a case against him for neglect absent any active culpability on his part in facilitating the conduct.
However, as I have previously said, I think dad SHOULD report it. Even the OP - Californiamom - can report it, and probably should. But, again it comes down to doing what might be considered right compared to what is legally required.
I can't imagine trying to enforce failure to report laws, too.