Prince Andrew no surprise

[Pixxie7]

No surprise that the met have stopped. Their investigation into PA.

@zafferana

And a 17-year-old in England is a child.

Maybe so, but the age of consent is 16, so not illegal. You keep on saying the same thing, but the law is the law and until such time as it changes, a 16-year-old can legally have sex with anyone else who is over 16.

It's not the age of consent that is the issue here.

It's the consent.

Probably because they paid up.... and made her sign agreements that don’t make them Liable,
Some of the names she mentioned are big in The US, Andrew is nothing in comparison .

You can bark up this tree all you like but you will get nowhere.

The law in 2001 would classify Roberts as a consenting prostitute. This was changed in 2003.

The laws on prostitution at the time were concerned with pimps and madams, and in the case of Maxwell, she qualifies on both counts.

It’s not the age that so many are focused on but the consent and trafficking 🙄 no wonder they can get away with it scumbags when people still don’t get it. Epstein island was a filth pit of what these elites can get away with

Well, like I keep saying, we'll have to wait for Maxwell's trial.

If she makes it.

You cannot try old cases under new laws. The Law does not work like that.

Current ideas about coercion and consent were absent from the pre-2003 law. Roberts was not held down or locked in. She was free to walk out of Maxwell's mews flat, go to the police and claim she was a victim of trafficking. She did not, ergo 'consent' according to the 1967 law.

@Jaysmith71 ok never knew this

Thanks for clarifying prh47bridge Just a coincidence then.

At the time of her 'visit' to England, VR still should have had ECHR protections in this country - protections which date to 1950. Lord Justice Moses's ruling of 2013 didn't invented law - it clarified existing protections under ECHR and UN convention(s) for 17 year olds in England that were being wrongly interpreted by the Police. So she could argue that if she were so inclined.

Anyway, it'll play out one way or another, under intense scrutiny.

I don't think Andrew has any idea what he looks like from the outside. And of course it is inevitably shining light on Charles and his many 'ill-advised' friendships and acquaintanceships, something that could be immensely damaging to the institution of the monarchy. There's only so much sewage even the royal family can keep a lid on.

The fact that England (and the wider UK) allows child marriage is something of an historic anomaly, given that there's a reason why we don't allow under-18s to sign any other form of legal contract

That’s not true at all. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of the things a 16 year olds is legally able to do in the UK, plenty of which involves signing a legal contract:

Leave school
Leave home
Apply for housing through a local authority
Open a bank account
Get a job
Join a union
Join the armed forces
Apply for a passport without parental/guardian consent.
Chose and instruct a lawyer
Consent to medical treatment
Change your name

Once you are 16 you are in a short transitional stage towards full adulthood - there really are only a few things that a 16 year old can’t do for another year or so - vote, get a driving licence, buy alcohol on their own, get a tattoo etc.

[quote worriedatthemoment]@julieca what other european countries have this law. ? [/quote]
None as far as I am aware. Some countries have a "close age exemption" which allows someone to have sex with a child under the age of consent provided the age gap is small. A couple of countries with a low age of consent make it an offence for someone over a certain age to exploit the young person's inexperience, but conviction of the older person requires a complaint from the younger person.

You may be interested to know that 26 countries in Europe have a lower age of consent than the UK, with 14 being the age of consent in 14 countries.

Ooh lists yay.

The list of things a 40yo in public office is not legally able to do is probably even longer.

Where I live in England a 16 or 17 year old would need to do - for example - a local authority housing tenancy through their children's social worker or appointed guardian, Serenster.

@prh47bridge thats what I thought which is why I asked
Its so common on here to read other European countries do this , forgetting there are a lot of them

Italy does have a close-in-age rule where 13-year-olds can legally consent to partners who are less than three years older (or younger).

Child Marriage is the silent scandal of the USA. In many states, there is no minimum age, and the law continues to presume that a shotgun wedding is an appropriate response to an underage pregnancy.

Regards Maxwell and the uncomfortable prison mattress she's been complaining about, only one person to blame. She disappeared when indicted, was tracked down from her phone to a rented property where she refused to open the door. When the police forced an entry, she barricaded herself in the bedroom. Police found multiple passports including a French one. France refuses to extradite its citizens. And it is a short-ish flight from where she was holed up to the French islands in the gulf of St Lawrence.

I know that Maxwell is very unhappy about the suicide watch protocols.

If you met a family where the father had been good friends with Jimmy Saville and the Uncle had been close friends with Epstein and had been accused of having sex with a trafficked girl, would you let your 15-year old daughter visit for a sleepover? Would you let them babysit your 8-year-old daughter? Or would you recognise the red flags glaring at you?

@julieca thats because its 13 year olds not the same , you quoted something incorrect

@worriedatthemoment I didnt say the laws were in place with 16-year olds. Just that I would like that in the UK. I don't think we should criminalise 16 and 17 year olds having sex, but I do think the same concept Italy has would be good to apply to our current age of consent.

I went to school with a 16-year-old girl who married a man in his late 70s. She came from a terrible family and I suspect just went with the first man who showed her any kindness.

@SpindleWhirl

I know that Maxwell is very unhappy about the suicide watch protocols.

Oh Dear. How Sad. Never Mind.

@julieca you implied it was done in many European countries
We almost do the same as it is with Say 2 15 year olds

...Should say, It's personal.

Her dad stole my dad's pension.

@worriedatthemoment yes but I want it extended upwards.