23 year old having intimate relation with 17 year old girl 1 hour away from legal age

[Dave2770]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

CA

I have 2 questions.

1. Suppose I sleep with a 17 year old 1 hour away from legal age and am caught and the officer decides to press charges.

Will the prosecutor or judge seriously go through with the case and say that she couldn't give consent and that means I committed rape?

2. Suppose she's 1 week away from turning 18 and we go to a country overseas where the legal age of consent is 16 and we have sex and we come back and she presses charges and even has evidence. Will I be charged for commiting a "crime" overseas?

These are all hypothetical questions but I just want straight answers to test the practicality of our judicial system and measure the common sense of most prosecutors, attorney, judges, and jurors.

I sincerely ask because I am certain for the first question, the prosecutor would not hesitate to prosecute, and the jurors would not hesitate to find the defendant guilty. It just seems to me that the modern judicial and legal system have absolutely no common sense or any logic outside their ridiculous and rigid thinking and application of law.

Hopefully this doesn't sound like a rant but I've always wanted to know the answers to these questions.

Note, there is no girl. I am not seeking advice to commit crime. I am already in a relationship. This is just a hypothetical question so I can understand American law applicators better.

 

[CdwJava]

WILL you be charged? No one knows. CAN you be charged under state and/or federal laws? Sure.

That's about all I am going to entertain on this absurd notion.

 

[Dave2770]

It's not absurd if you think about it.

Say you are in a car having sex and you get caught. Officer checks her ID and shes underage and it's 11:40pm 20 minutes before she's legal and he charges him for having sex with a minor..

What would the correct decision be in the court regarding this incident?

 

[CdwJava]

It's not absurd if you think about it.

Say you are in a car having sex and you get caught. Officer checks her ID and shes underage and it's 11:40pm 20 minutes before she's legal and he charges him for having sex with a minor..

What would the correct decision be in the court regarding this incident?

If the statute was violated, then the police, the DA and the court would be correct in pursuing the matter in a criminal court. The law for PC 261.5 specifies age 18 as the age of consent, not ALMOST age 18. Whether they would do so or not is something that cannot be answered in a hypothetical.

You might also consider that the offense can be a felony or a misdemeanor depending upon the age of the perpetrator, and whether any other sexual acts besides intercourse were conducted.

In short, this is a silly hypo to be pursuing as it accomplished nothing since any answer will require a whole lot of "What if ..." clarifications, and that is simply too annoying to deal with.

 

[Dave2770]

If the statute was violated, then the police, the DA and the court would be correct in pursuing the matter in a criminal court. The law for PC 261.5 specifies age 18 as the age of consent, not ALMOST age 18. Whether they would do so or not is something that cannot be answered in a hypothetical.

You might also consider that the offense can be a felony or a misdemeanor depending upon the age of the perpetrator, and whether any other sexual acts besides intercourse were conducted.

In short, this is a silly hypo to be pursuing as it accomplished nothing since any answer will require a whole lot of "What if ..." clarifications, and that is simply too annoying to deal with.

It's not silly at all and that's the whole point.

What if you know someone who happened to be in this position. Wouldn't you look at the prosecutor and judge and jurors like wtf guys, she was already almost 18.

Im pointing out the fact that our judicial system most of the time neglects common sense and fair justice by bending a few rules. When they stick to the direct letter of the law some people get fked over 1 hour. And that hour difference doesn't make someone more capable of giving consent

 

[CdwJava]

Well, I have been doing this for over 25 years (including a few years investigating primarily juvenile sex crimes) and have yet to ever see your scenario play out. And the fact remains that the state CAN pursue the matter should it choose. The line on age is drawn because it has to be drawn somewhere. If you have a problem, take it up with your state legislator.

 

[Lprince6174]

My 17 year old was raped

I have found out enough in the last week that it makes me physically sick. My daughter 17, was raped by a 22 yr old in Florida. Here the age is under 16 for statutory rape. She went to hospital on her own for rape kit where they interviewed her and took statement without me present (male cop and doctor by the way). He was arrested and got out on bail same day. I met with states attorney yesterday and they are not going to pursue charges. Said it's "he said, she said". His story of events has changed 3 times the detective told me and the rape kit results aren't back yet but he said it doesn't help when deciding consent. Basically, my daughter wasn't beat up enough to satisfy there twisted way of thinking. My daughter is absolutely devastated. She has since been diagnosed with PTSD. To hell with our judicial system.

 

[Zigner]

You might also consider that the offense can be a felony or a misdemeanor depending upon the age of the perpetrato...

Felony - the OP's hypothetical guy is 23 years old.

 

[Dave2770]

No one can or wants to answer my question because it displays a lot of flaws in how the system operates.

 

[Zigner]

No one can or wants to answer my question because it displays a lot of flaws in how the system operates.

Folks can (and have) answered your question. Nobody wants to delve too deeply in to it because it's a hypothetical situation and we've got better things to do. This forum is not a discussion board.

 

[Dave2770]

It's a genuine questions that helps me understand how our law operates. Is it absolute whereas I would get a felony charge for being 1 hour too early? Or will the judges, jurors, and prosecutors understand some common sense and logic and dismiss the case

 

[Zigner]

It's a genuine questions that helps me understand how our law operates. Is it absolute whereas I would get a felony charge for being 1 hour too early? Or will the judges, jurors, and prosecutors understand some common sense and logic and dismiss the case

If you're a 23 year old who gets his rocks off with underaged girls in the backseat of a car 1 hour before their 18th birthday, then you deserve whatever our system gives you.

 

[CdwJava]

No one can or wants to answer my question because it displays a lot of flaws in how the system operates.

Your question has been answered. As long as the law has been violated, the state can pursue criminal charges.

 

[CdwJava]

I have found out enough in the last week that it makes me physically sick. My daughter 17, was raped by a 22 yr old in Florida. Here the age is under 16 for statutory rape. She went to hospital on her own for rape kit where they interviewed her and took statement without me present (male cop and doctor by the way). He was arrested and got out on bail same day. I met with states attorney yesterday and they are not going to pursue charges. Said it's "he said, she said". His story of events has changed 3 times the detective told me and the rape kit results aren't back yet but he said it doesn't help when deciding consent. Basically, my daughter wasn't beat up enough to satisfy there twisted way of thinking. My daughter is absolutely devastated. She has since been diagnosed with PTSD. To hell with our judicial system.

This is horrible, and I am sorry that this happened to her.

But, the DA will not generally pursue cases they cannot win. Clearly no one here can know the facts of your daughter's case, but, some rape cases can be exceedingly difficult to pursue. Consider this: If they pursue the case now, and lose, then they can never try him again even if he were to confess and brag about it online. However, if they do not pursue him presently, depending on the laws in your state, the state can always come after him later if some evidence does arise.

Sexual assault cases can be difficult to pursue - particularly if they come about as a result of a party, drugs, alcohol, or some other social get together including a "date."

I hope your daughter is getting counseling and any other assistance she might need to help her work through this.

 

[Dave2770]

If you're a 23 year old who gets his rocks off with underaged girls in the backseat of a car 1 hour before their 18th birthday, then you deserve whatever our system gives you. I:

But that's my point. Surely they could look and say, well she was only 60 minutes away and that minor amount of time shouldn't make a difference in her ability to give consent. Plus it's so close that we will dismiss the case instead of file charges.

The point is, if someone is actually persecuted for being 60 min early then the system is in serious need of help.