"Age of Consent" in DC Questions

[HardWorkingDem]

It is now being reported by rethuglican pundits that the "age of consent" in DC is 16 and that some of this are trying to turn this into a homosexual story between consenting "adults".

So what does this DC age of consent thing exactly mean? For example, in IL there is an age factor when it comes to someone this young having relations with someone older (not sure what it is, but it's something like a 16 yr old can give consent for relations with someone a couple of years older, but when it gets to be like 6 or 7 years older, it turns into a crime.)

[Jim__]

1. So, are they now going to claim that pages are fair game?

Foley didn't do anything wrong. The kid was of legal age.

[Stephanie]

2. If it were a 16 year old girl this would not be a question.

And the boy was 15, wasn't he?

[femmedem]

5. deleted: replied to wrong poster.

[femmedem]

3. I already saw someone arguing this point on a CT blog.

I'd like to understand this better myself--although I don't think the public is going to buy this technicality.

In the meantime, I asked the poster if it was also perfectly fine for Foley to be inviting sixteen-year-olds to come to his place and get drunk, and I pasted in the relevant quote, with link.:-)

[rinsd]

4. A link from wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_North_America#United_States

[femmedem]

6. From the link you sent:

:...forbids the use of the United States Postal Service or other interstate or foreign means of communication, such as telephone calls or use of the internet, to persuade or entice a minor (defined as under 18 throughout chapter) to be involved in a criminal sexual act. The act has to be illegal under state or federal law to be charged with a crime under 2422(b), and can even be applied to situations where both parties are within the same state, but uses an instant messenger program whose servers are in another state..."

Or, not and. To me, that looks broad enough to make Foley's actions a crime.

[Fredda Weinberg]

8. No, it's not statutory rape

The act, had there been one with a 16 year old, would be legal. But that's quite beside the point ...

[soothsayer]

7. Listen, they are right about that---but the internet stuff is illegal

ironically because of his own law, bwa ha ha, and the repukes are embarassed cuz they're not supposed to have gay congressman under their big tent. The actual story is actually pretty benign---except for the hypocrisy involved----but it's fun to play it up cuz it reallllly plays well on news shows and it's gossipy and fun and salacious, and you KNOW it is just pissing off the repukes and angering their fundie base. So we're sinking to their level a bit here, cuz this is totally what they'd do to us given similar circumstances, so I'm happy this story has legs (great legs like that lacrosse playing page, lol!)

[Fredda Weinberg]

9. You're wrong about that

http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/citizensguide_trafficking.html

16 is still the cutoff age

[TechBear_Seattle]

10. Age of consent answers

http://www.coolnurse.com/consent.htm

Age of consent is the age when person may legally consent to sexual relations with another person. In most cases, this involves situations where there is a significant age difference.

In Washington State (the only place where I am familiar with the AoC laws), it is a criminal offense for an older person to engage in sexual relations with a 14 or 15 year old if:

* the older person is more than 48 months (ie 4 years) older than the teenager AND
* the older person is not married to the younger person

(see Revised Code of Washington, 9A.44.089, Child molestation in the third degree.)

It is not a criminal offense to engage in sexual relations with someone who is 16 or 17 unless:

* the older person is more than 60 months (ie 5 years) older than the teenager AND
* the older person is not married to the younger person AND
* the older person has a "significant relationship" with the teen as defined by law, ie the older person is the child's lawyer, doctor or the like and uses that relationship to coerce sexual relations, or is an employee of the school the teen attends, or is the teen's foster parent.

(See RCW 9A.44.093, Sexual misconduct with a minor in the first degree and RCW 9A.44.096, Sexual misconduct with a minor in the second degree.)

In the end, however, the issue is moot. It probably was not a crime to engage in sexual relations with a 16 year old in the District of Columbia HOWEVER emails have been made public of trysts with 16 year olds in Florida and California, where the age of consent is 18, meaning that Foley would have committed crimes. Likewise, any and all internet chat of a sexual nature with anyone under the age of 18 that occured after a bill that Foley himself had sponsored was signed into law makes him guilty of a federal felony, one count for each such exchange. To say that Foley did not commit any crimes flies in the face of all the evidence.

[yellowcanine]

11. The Federal law against soliciting sex on the internet uses 18.

So it doesn't really matter what the DC age of consent is.

[Fredda Weinberg]

12. Gotta citation for that? The one I found says 16

http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/citizensguide_trafficking.html

[yellowcanine]

13. My understanding was there was a fairly recent one passed. Don't have

a link.