reply to post by Golf66
I appreciate your well thought out response. Allow me to clarify my position a bit.
In regards to weather or not a charge of Statutory rape vs rape is irrelevant, I beg to differ. It is relevant in terms of the language used. It is
the same difference you would find in a charge of manslaughter vs a charge of murder. In the end you still have a dead body, but the real difference
is in intent. Now hypothetically speaking, if Mr Joe Blow goes out and rapes a 14 year old, he will be charge with rape, indecent liberties,
kidnapping (for holding another against their will). However, if Mr Joe Blow has consensual sex with a 14 year old girl, he will be charged with
Statutory Rape because the law does not recognize the consent of a 14 year old. Yet, that still does not mean consent was not given. It simply means
that the law does not recognize the consent, in this case due to the age of one of the parties involved. The law itself is very clear on this point.
Another thing to factor in is the exactly what Massachusetts State Law is in regards to Statutory Rape. Under this State's law, 14 will get you 25
for a first offense. As defined in chapter 119 section 21, a first offense is punishable by life in prison or "any term of years but not less than 10
years" and this would be under the discretion of the sentencing Judge. So now we must ask ourselves, why did this man get 16 years of probation when
there is a minimum sentencing guideline in place in the State?
This answer is easy, because this case was not tried in Criminal Court, it was tried in Family Court. Why? The reason why would be found in the
specifics of the case, which we are clearly not privy to, but I believe it is a very safe assumption based upon the the language used in the original
charges, that the issue would be about consent. Judges are assigned cases, they do not get to pick and choose where a case is tried. This decision
falls squarely on the District Attorney.
Now this man was charged with 4 counts of Statutory Rape. This indicates that a sexual act took place on 4 separate occasions. If I punch someone in
the mouth one time, I will not be charged with 4 counts of assault. Instead I could be charged with 1 count of assault, 1 count of aggravated assault,
1 count of assault and battery but not 4 counts of assault for one single punch. In this case, the man got 4 counts of the same exact charge which
implies 4 separate incidents.
I can appreciate your thoughts on this case, as I too am a father of two daughters. One is now 17 and the other is now 14, however I can not allow me
emotional knee jerk reaction to take over my logic and reasoning. Make no mistake about it, the man is wrong for what he did and there is no doubt
about that, however in this case there is nothing to indicate that he forced this girl against her will. Even if she was forced through coercion in
some fashion- and coercion is legally defined as forcing one to act in an involuntary manner- that would also be a charge of a Rape and not Statutory
Rape.