Anonymous on the case of lesbian girl charged with statutory rape.

[Xithras]

12. There's only one way to answer that.

"So is this really just applying statutory rape cases evenly?" The only way to answer that would be to examine the county's history of statutory rape prosecutions. If this is a selective enforcement of a blue law, then it's clearly discriminatory. If they regularly enforce it, then it's probably not. The relationship was clearly illegal under Florida law, and the only real question here is whether they are treating this woman the same way they treat all others, or whether she's being singled out because of her sexual orientation. She shouldn't be discriminated against because of her orientation, but she also shouldn't receive special treatment (in other words, lesbians shouldn't get a pass on this if they're actively prosecuting heterosexuals for the same thing).

And the age thing does make a bit of sense. Juries are less likely to convict two minors of having consensual sex than they are to convict an adult having sex with a minor. By waiting until she was 18, it moved the case into adult court and increased the probability of a successful prosecution. That has little to do with her gender or sexual orientation, and everything to do with a prosecutor not wanting to waste time on an unwinnable case.


It should be pointed out that this relationship would be illegal in most states. Even in states with Romeo & Juliet laws or lower ages of consent, the minimum age for the partner of an 18 year old would be 16. There are only a handful of states where an 18 year old can consensually sleep with a 15 year old.