A unique case that involves a 15 year old boy, who was charged for indulging in a sexual relationship with his seventh grader girlfriend, has been taken to the Kentucky Supreme Court. The boy who has a history of indecent exposure and was under probation for it had to bear the brunt of the legal fallout, although both partners should have been deemed at fault in this case.
Kentucky, like many other states, establishes that any individual below the age of 16 cannot be considered a consensual partner in sexual acts. As such both the teens, the boy aged 15 and the girl aged 13, would be caught in the legal repercussions of their amorous liaison. However, the boy’s lawyers argued that if the law were to be judiciously implemented, a third of all American teens would have to be put behind bars.
The complaint against the boy was filed by the mother of the 13 year old girl, who found his nude pictures on her daughter’s cell phone. The teen pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor, the judge did not go light on him when he was brandished as a sex offender and sent to a juvenile detention center.
The defense attorneys have gone to the Apex Court with the argument that both youngsters, although in violation of the state laws, did not know that their behavior amounted to a crime. Also, they argued that the sexual conduct was voluntary, hence did not call for criminalization. The lawyers also claimed that the defendant’s rights to equal protection and due process were violated by the sentence.
The court was adjourned on the note where a justice commented that sexual predatory behavior is not limited to adults. This was likely in response to the prosecutor’s observation that if the defense’s argument were considered valid then a 15 year old could not be charged for having sex with a 5 year old.
Source: http://www.kentucky.com/news/hot-topics/article44553825.html