For the sake of argument, is it okay for a 23 year old to have sex with a 16 year old?

[cynatnite]

54. What about 21 and 13 year olds?

16 years old is still considerably less mature than 23 years old. 23 year olds have had the benefit of real life experience that a 16 year old doesn't have. A lot of 16 year olds can fold pretty easy and they're not always emotionally ready to handle the kind of relationship that a 23 year old adult would offer.

I just have real problems with this mainly because we went through something similar and we put the bastard in jail over it. The ages were different, but the spread was exactly the same. We've also raised 2 daughters, too, and have a 14 year old son.

I don't believe you've really considered all the ramifications of an adult with a teenager. Now, if the ages were a little closer together...maybe 20 years old...possibly even 21...I'd probably have to pause. If the teenager was 17, I would definitely be a bit more lenient because the maturity level is different, IMO.

There are a lot of different factors to take into consideration mainly because there are such varying situations that's not going to apply the same in every instance. If I were going to apply hard numbers I would say that an age difference of more than 4 years would most definitely be out of the question.

Also, not every teenager is raised with the benefit of a parent or parents who educates them and prepares them for these kinds of relationships.