police chiefs comments about men having sex with underage girls

[alexa1]

here

what do u make of the chief constables comments?

[expatinscotland]

i think labelling a 17-year-old who has consensual sex w/his 15-year-old girlfriend a paedo is beyond ridiculous.

[Carmenere]

Although I can kind of see what he means it was a stupid thing to say. And impractical as you can just imagine paedophiles saying 'well I thought she was 13, she looked 13 to me'

[alexa1]

i agree expat. i think this is a tricky one though because what if the girl was having sex with a 20 year + old, would they then be a paedo. when is the age limit safe or not safe as the case would be.

[UnquietDad]

"paedophile" is a medical definition, and one which is seized on by the media. The legal term is "sex offender". Technically the 17-year-old boy having sex with his 15-year-old gf is a sex offender, but it's a matter of discretion if he is prosecuted. Let's face it, the girl could be more sexually and emotionally mature than him. Totally different kettle of fish from evil bastards abusing 7-year-olds, who should all be put on an island somewhere with their nads fed to the sharks.

[bctmum]

Moves away from the girls age of consent to putting an age of not being a paedo - madness. Age of consent is important - 13yrs and 20yrs - what is he thinking?

[ginmummy]

He's opened up a whole can of worms with this one. Someone as high ranking as a Chief Constable introducing grey areas and 'ifs' and 'buts' into the law is just asking for trouble, and I agree with Kidscape that he's on very dicey ground. Reasoned debate is fine, but this is an ill-judged, ill-phrased publicity seeking gambit from someone who, quite frankly, should know better than to start off a debate about the law of the land with sensationalist comments.

[Pruni]

Message withdrawn

[beckybrastraps]

A paedophile is someone who has sexual feelings towrds prepubescent children.
According to the link, he is talking about a child aged over 13 and an adult aged UP TO 20. I cannot see that as paedophilia.

[WhizzBangCaligula]

I think his comments are valid.

Sex does have grey areas. It's valid to debate them. Yes he is in murky waters, but sometimes you have to go through murky waters to get out to the clear bit...

[Pruni]

Message withdrawn

[expatinscotland]

I lost my virginity at 16 to a 23-year-old. He was deffo NOT a paedo and I was a voluptuous young woman who was well up for it. In fact, I planned it.

[PeachyClair]

There are definitely murkya reas, on a child protection training course we were told of the 16 year old who had sex with his 15 year old girlfriend (whom he wwent on to marry) and her aprents insisted on a prosecution, years later he wanted to go into teacher training and nope- sex offender.

However, i think 13 is VERY young indeed- many girls haven't even hit puberty at that age, and therefore deserve legal protection- the ones I know are actually very young for their age.

So I think that whilst the police should as ever be able to use appropriate discretion, a change to the law would simply remove the protection from those who need it, and simultaneously send out a very dodgy message indeed.

[TheHighwayCod]

itds the age disparity
a dnyway a peado is someone attracted to kids between birht nad puberty so no over 13

[Pruni]

Message withdrawn

[beckybrastraps]

There was a comment piece in the Times today about this, but I can't find it online.

The writer said that in Malta they have a lower age of consent, but it is higher if one of the partners is in a position of responsibility towards the other.

It seemed a reasonable plan to me.

I know a boy of 17 who received a caution and was placed on the sex offenders register for having (consensual) sex with a 15 year old, following the intervention of her outraged parents. I find it appalling that he should be on the sex offenders register, let alone labelled a paedophile by people who don't seem to realise what the word actually means.

[TheHighwayCod]

becky this is taken into caaount int eh sentencing guidelines i haev fro it
hol don

[TheHighwayCod]

yes it is
and abus eof trust issues too

[boboggglimpopo]

As I found out when my dd did her middle of the night sortie - in France the age of sexual consent is 15, and there is nothing you can do, unless there is violence involved, even if the man in question is in his fifties!

[expatinscotland]

gotta love France

[beckybrastraps]

Good.

Because the age of consent is arbitrary isn't it? Nothing magical happens at 16. As the women in the Times said, what is illegal in Dover may well be legal in Calais. For me, the age difference is of more importance. And the abuse of a position of trust of course.

[beckybrastraps]

Good to cod BTW - not 15 years olds and 50 year olds!

[PeachyClair]

Remeber that not all girls DO hit puberty at 13, I didn't and i'm not THAT much of a freak; ages need to be set to reflect a variety of development timetables (I was 16.5, btw)

[Chandra]

Should the difference in age could be considered a good measure?. I think it weird with a couple of teenagers who had been sexually active, not to be able to continue or be penalised by the only act of one of them turning seventeen.

But I would have a problem at a person having sex with a much younger underage person (guess it all depends in the circumstances but a 30 yr old having sex with a 15 year old is totally out IMO).