Why isn't the MSM mentioning Spears and statutory rape?

[Frank Cannon]

I know some of you would rather put a dental drill in your eye socket than read another thread about Jamie Lynn Spears, but this is a serious question. The boyfriend's 19. She's 16. Not a PEEP from the Wurlitzer about how this may be illegal. WTF is going on?

Edited for subject line.

[AllegroRondo]

1. California has a 3 year age difference window

where its not considered statutory rape. Also, I believe the parents must press charges.

[JanMichael]

3. they are in Louisiana

we are wondering the exact same thing. Under Louisiana state law, this is a crime. We wonder if there are different rules for Nicklodean kids.

[Orsino]

14. someone might have to prove what state the alleged act(s) took place in.

Probably hard to do.

[Frank Cannon]

6. Ah. Thank you.

Never mind.

[Omphaloskepsis]

8. Same thing in Oregon..

I believe it is still illegal but it is not statutory rape. It is considered sexual misconduct.

[SacredCow]

2. Why the MSM is even covering it is a mystery to me.....

16 year old trashy hussy gets herself knocked up by her older boyfriend? Yeah, that's a regular "Great Caesar's Ghost!!!" moment.... :eyes:

[RebelOne]

5. Excuse me, but please do not use the term "trailer trash."

Since I live in a mobile home, it offends me.

[SacredCow]

12. Edited for a fellow Southerner....

I've never by default subscribed to the equation "trailer = trash," and I thought that was clear from my caveat. I've been in flamewars over the "southern = redneck trash" so many times, and I've finally just accepted that many (if not most) people here use "southern" as a descriptor for certain people when it really isn't necessary. And that's all the trailer thing was- a descriptor for that particular breed, of which you do not belong.

That said, I'm in a snarky mood today and were that not the case I would have worded the post as it now stands.

[Maestro]

4. I thought the same, but Allegro Rondo's post cleared that up.

But once again, I think there is poor decision making here. She had a decent career going with Zoey 101. My kids watch it all the time. I wonder how the producers and writers will deal with this.

[Frank Cannon]

7. Still, I can't help thinking that if the boyfriend were "of color"...

he'd have ten cops throwing his battered ass into the slammer faster than you can say "jailbait".

[Maine-ah]

9. yeah, lets send a guy to jail and have him marked as a sex

offender to go live under a bridge for the rest of his life because his 16 yo girl friend had consensual sex with him. Good plan.

Isn't there something else a little more important you can get angry over? How about the woman who was an employee of KBR/Halliburton that got gang raped in Iraq by KBR employees...... there's a real rape case.




*****************

I do not approve of statutory rape, and in many cases it should be prosecuted. Though in this case, she is 16 and it was consensual. Hell, when I was 16, I had a 19 y.o. boyfriend.

[lazer47]

10. He is a felon, and a pedophile

A. Felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile is committed when:

(1) A person who is nineteen years of age or older has sexual intercourse, with consent, with a person who is twelve years of age or older but less than seventeen years of age, when the victim is not the spouse of the offender.

This is the law in La.

[flvegan]

11. They're kinda talking about it.

It involves a celebrity, so it's front line news.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317535,00.html

[redqueen]

13. Stewart did last night on Countdown.

Dunno if it's been mentioned elsewhere. I avoid most TV news.

:shrug:

[montanto]

15. Doesn't the party involved need to file charges?

Or can the state charge on behalf? Sheesh, post upthread calls the guy a felon! O.K. let me confess that I, too, am a rapist! When I was 20 I had a 17 y.o. g.f. Consensual all the way, but I guess that makes me a child molester!


Course she's my wife of many years now.


Am I still in trouble??

[regnaD kciN]

17. Depends on which state you were in...

Most states have an age of consent of 16. California and Louisiana are two of the exceptions.

And, yes, it's the state's decision on whether or not to file charges. Oftentimes, that decision is based on the wishes of the girl's family, but it doesn't have to be. Of course, it's a lot easier when the "victim" is willing to take the stand and testify about having sex with the accused when she was underage, but, in cases like this (when there's a DNA-testable baby as part of the picture), it might be possible to get a conviction anyway.

BTW, despite what several people have posted, the "three-year-age-difference" law in California doesn't get him off the hook -- it just means he'd be charged with a misdemeanor rather than a felony.

[Frank Cannon]

22. He would also have to register as a sex offender in many states

including, I believe, Louisiana.

[kay1864]

25. "Most states"? Not quite

Actually it's 18 for about half, 16 for about half. Plus a few exceptions.

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

[Lex]

29. Some states are still 14. Here's a easier list to see

STATE
AGE

Alabama
16
Alaska
16
Arizona
18
Arkansas
16
California
18
Colorado
15
Connecticut
15
D.C.
16
Delaware
16
Florida
16/18 (bill pending)
Georgia
16
Hawaii
14
Idaho
14
Illinois
16/17
Indiana
16
Iowa
18
Kansas
16
Kentucky
16 - <1>
Louisiana
17
Maine
16
Maryland
16
Massachusetts
16/18
Michigan
16
Minnesota
16
Mississippi
16 - <2>
Missouri
17
Montana
16
Nebraska
16
Nevada
16
New Hampshire
16/18
New Jersey
16/18
New Mexico
17
New York
17
North Carolina
16
North Dakota
18
Ohio
16
Oklahoma
16
Oregon
18
Pennsylvania
16
Rhode Island
16
South Carolina
14/16
South Dakota
16
Tennessee
18
Texas
17
Utah
16/18
Vermont
16
Virginia
15
Washington
16
West Virginia
16
Wisconsin
18
Wyoming
16
Puerto Rico
18

http://www.webistry.net/jan/consent.html

[Fire Walk With Me]

16. The rich are "eccentric". The rest of us are "criminals". The law is clear.

Cha-ching.

[GCP]

18. It's up on CNN now - does that count?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/19/spears.statutory.rape/index.html

[Deja Q]

19. They're related to Britney and Britney has had it too tough lately.

:eyes:

[dropkickpa]

20. The boy graduated HS in May

It's not like he's a 10-15 years older than her. He's 18-19 (no age has been confirmed). 2 year's is really that big of a deal? Statutory rape charges are filed by the parents of the younger partner and, considering Lynne Spears allowed him to sleep over on multiple occasions, it wouldn't hold up in court even if she were so inclined.

[Frank Cannon]

21. If it's a state crime, the state can pursue criminal charges...

regardless of the parents.

Believe me, I do NOT want the guy to go to jail. I'm just sick to death of the double standard that exists in this country. Rich + white = media blackout on the skeletons in your closet.

[underpants]

23. Well that other kid did 2 years for consensual sex

BTW- Frank I asked the same question here
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2509520&mesg_id=2509520

[Lex]

24. Isn't 16 the age of consent in that state?

It is in most states I believe.

[LeftyMom]

26. 18 in California.

But charges when the girl's parents aren't throwing a fit and there's no welfare case involved are pretty much unheard of.

[Lex]

28. I found this site that has it state by state. Some states are still 14?

Yikes.

http://www.webistry.net/jan/consent.html

[DarkTirade]

27. My question is this:

Why are they covering it at all?