TWO Adult Female Teachers Prey On A 16 Year Old Boy=Rape

[davidthegnome]

61. Hmm

I was sixteen my first time - with a woman in her early twenties. I'm fairly sure that that's illegal. I wasn't in school at the time, was living at home with my parents, working on that grand GED education.... in retrospect, for a variety of reasons, I wish I had waited. One thing that did not occur to my young mind to wander was why a woman in her early twenties wanted anything to do with a sixteen year old boy. I was irresponsible, immature - and in no way ready for the consequences of a sexual relationship with a grown woman.

Yet, personally, looking back, I have never considered it as rape. As a young boy, I suffered abuse at the hands of two very sick men. Without going into detail, the difference between that, and "losing my virginity" at 16, is pretty huge. I believe the age of consent in Maine is 16 - but that your partner can only be a certain number of years older. Legally, it may well have been considered rape.

What it finally comes down to though, for me... is the question of whether I, as now an adult male... could conceive of such a thing. I can't. I could not at twenty one and I cannot now. Sixteen years old is not old enough for an adult. What happens if pregnancy occurs (as it did in my case)? What if the sixteen year old in question simply had a crush on you and you took advantage of a much younger person? It is not just the reaction of society we should consider, but our own personal principles. Not just the legality of such a thing... but, the (lack of) responsibility and forethought in such a situation.

Yes, regardless of the genders of the people in question, rape is rape. To take advantage of the young, particularly in a society where they do not (typically) have the means, responsibility, or maturity to support themselves, or a family, or to manage the many possible consequences of a sexual relationship. Someone who is still swimming in that sea of raging hormones is not yet an adult.

Yes, criminal charges should be brought. Gender should make no difference here.