December 20, 2007
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Statutory Rape
We talked the other day about how Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant at the age of 16. It has been reported that her boyfriend is the father and that he is 19. Some are saying he may be only 18.
If he is 19 and the act happened in Louisiana, he could face up to 10 years in prison. Here is the link: Link
Do you think a 19-year-old deserves 10 years in prison for having sex with a 16-year-old?
Comments (125)
1st!! I’ve gotten 1st, like 3 times!
No.
No. That’s ridiculous.
No, not if it wasn’t actually rape.
Nope! Especially if it was consensual.
To elaborate a little… that’s only a three year difference. If she was 20 and he was 23, would it have the same connotations? What is the age of consent in their state? Plus, she’s a celebrity, and we all know that celebrities don’t really live under the same set of standards that us “regular” people do. They’re not held to the law all of the time. I really don’t think it’s worth all that much debate. If she was a regular 16 year old girl in a small town, or just a regular 16 year old girl, we wouldn’t know about this, we wouldn’t care if we saw her on the street, and although her parents might have something to say, they’d be awfully dumb to prosecute.
Dan- What’s the fascination with Jamie Lynn Spears? This is like 1,004,692 about her.
Nope because Im sure it was consensual
Im sure she knew about birth control but really did she thinkaabout it all getting pregnant now. I hope her career fails
hmmmm… can we lock them both up just for having sex? How about for being STUPID about it?
I think as long as the “underage” consents to it, then no one should get into trouble. They both made the decision to do it. Now had it been a 35 year old and a 12 year old, then that’d be a different story.
nope
He should get maybe 3-5. I definitley think he took advantage of a young girl, even if she said yes and enjoyed it. She’s too young to be screwing around anyway.
Teenage mothers in this day and age make me sick. Birth control, condoms, shots, etc could have prevented this whole mess.
No, presuming it was consent from both sides, especially Spears. It is best for future reference to stay away from minors though, they lead to trouble… and trouble with their parents. Its just easiest to wait til adult age… I’m sure Spears parent’s are just… thrilled…
Well, yeah. It’s against the law. He should’ve thought about that beforehand.
Yes.
I think rape is taking sex from someone who is unwilling to do so, i highly doubt that she was UNWILLING!!!
No. However, if some 19 year old boy was even THINKING of trying to convince my 16 year old daughter to have sex with him I would gently, kindly, patiently explain to him the error of his ways with a 2×4 upside his head until he wished he was in prison for 10 years.
no
historically, people used to marry at 15. we are turning our teenagers into babies.
I do know much about America Law as well as other countries, so I cannot really give a comment on this.
no he deserves more. STATUTORY RAPE GUYS! no matter how you slice it, she was under age. and in every other state where you don’t marry your cousin for fun, its not legal. the fact that she sold the story to the media is disgusting. she is a low life piece of trailor trash JUST LIKE HER SISTER.
Enough aready! Who cares.
RYC: Yes, well, they are no longer my livlihood and they are no longer brain washing me. hehe
not 10 years in jail. He however knew it was illegal and did it anyway. it depends on how the family and Jamie feel about it and whether or not they decide to press charges.
First – he cannot go to jail unless HER parents don’t agree with any of this. I’ve already been through this crap.. they’re not going to find him, cuff him and put him into jail. He CAN if her parents see this as an issue… or if she gets pissed at him and reports him.
Been there, done that.
Depends on the situation. If he pressured her into it, then the law should be fully enforced. For other instances, the law shold be enforced or changed.
If it is the law, then yes he deserves it. I would doubt they would press charges, but that family has made strange decisions in the past.
“Teenage mothers in this day and age make me sick. Birth control, condoms, shots, etc could have prevented this whole mess.”
I think you need to take your head out of your ass and actually understand that not all teenage parents are moronic, such as yourself. Grow up, the world isn’t perfect. Read some stories on child abuse, etc and see what AGE they are – normally over 30.. sounds like some GREAT parents in that age, dont you think?
This is coming from a 20 year old with two children… I can compare myself to a LOT of parents older than I am… Not everyone is ment to be a young parent, but to some people is does happen and those are the type of parents that will do everything they possibly can to make sure their children don’t end up like they did. Better than everyone else.
My oldest is three and she is already better than you – she is going up NOT to be so damn judgemental about everything. Yeah, she will disagree with a lot of things – probably with me eventually (not just over not letting her get a new toy), but she’ll accept people for who they are, what they do and what they’ll become.
I am really irritated with all of the comments about young parents… Can we talk about OLDER parents and the BAD things THEY have done?
Do you want me to find a few articles about stupid parents thay are over 25?? I can do that in a heartbeat. Is it because they waited so long to have kids, it made them crazy and throw their babies into walls? Have them in bar bathrooms? Choking their baby because it won’t stop crying?
My mom works for a Hospital here ON the Peds floor – I know a lot about you older, wiser and more mature parents – don’t act like the world will be better if you start doing things at a more “common” age.. because it won’t…
*rolling eyes*
No. And this is exactly why I am opposed to excess government legislation. If he were 18 years 364 days it would be OK, one day latter he could go to jail for ten years. I believe governments should legislate less and leave more room open for intelligent people to make intelligent decisions over what is a crime and what isn’t.
That comment may look long, but it probably took me about 2 minutes to type it out..
And it might seem immature, but I am a young parent, so I MUST be immature.
Hopefully this will happen in this case.
No, that’s ridiculous.
I think that law is terrible.(good thing it’s based on if someone presses charges..but there are some crazy parents)
Especially considering the fact that the person is considered a child molester for the rest of their lives because of it. There’s someone in my neighborhood who’s stuck with that because he was with a girl three years younger than him.*
Hey, but seriously Dan, there’s a guy with blue skin and were talking about legal obscurities!
Having visited the Fox news website several times now, my brain has been permanently damaged, causing me to grow bored with one freak show after only a few minutes, I now need a constant stream of new freak shows to keep me happy.
Actually I thought 16 was the age of consent for the three year difference rule. But whatever. Now I’m gonna go convince Arcane67′s daughter to have sex with me.
I’ll go with the law is the law. And for all the people that say she consented, what about all the student-teacher rape cases we see?
“no he deserves more. STATUTORY RAPE GUYS! no matter how you slice it, she was under age. and in every other state where you don’t marry your cousin for fun, its not legal. the fact that she sold the story to the media is disgusting. she is a low life piece of trailor trash JUST LIKE HER SISTER.”
That’s not true.
Places where age of consent is 16:
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hamshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
In many of these places the age of consent is lower when the older person is under 18. Yeah, its a common misconception that it’s 18 everywhere. It’s not. Most often in this country its 16 or 17 and in other countries almost always 16.
I don’t think it would be fair to send him to prison for something that was consensual.
And I don’t see her mom to upset about this…she sold the story to OK magazine for crying out loud. And I doubt she’s going to let her mom take any action. As for the dad, I don’t know, all I read was he was pissed for the mom selling the story…and not for statutory rape. :-/
No, of course not
…no. she has the fault too…
ryc: i wish i could turn off the bomb…but its one of those thats been in the works for years.
Not if it was consensual.
they were probably having sex way before that.
wonder if nickelodeon is gonna give her the boot!
No, he should not. As I said yesterday, a 16 year old girl is old enough to understand what sex is, and what the repercussions for having sex are.
Well she was underage, so its a crime. The law is there becasue girls may not know the full extent of what they are doing at 16, granted most 16 year olds that hike their skirt know full well what they’re doing.
I did.
Granted at only 19 years old, I don’t think the intent to commit a crime was there. Either way I don’t blame him, he is a guy after all, a young guy that wasn’t thinking with his head; not the right one anyway. You know the saying about guys that age; “young, dumb and full of…aspirations.”
Yes!!!
[but it's not going to happen]
Jamie can refuse to report him as the father, refuse to use DNA testing, and then the police can’t really do anything about it. Nor do the police really care, unless someone actually wants to file it as a crime. I’m sure Jamie’s parents, seeing as she’s a minor, hold some sway, but seriously, the parents of Jamie and Britney Spears, get mad about one of their daughters getting knocked up? They’re such stellar parents, I don’t think they care at all.
I suppose this means Disney’s going to fire her, right?
No.
I think all women should be put on pill between the ages of 15 to 25. End of story.
im not sure if he should go to prison for it…i mean that is kinda harse but on tha other hand….just because hes ONLY 3 years older than her doesnt make it rite. HE SHOULDNT GET OFF THE HOOK. he knew it was wrong and thats that…..asshole…
no.
but on another note: she looks and reminds me of the “hit me baby one more time” britney. She looks so innocent. I wonder what she’ll look like 10 years down the road….
Oh how I miss that Britney.
That is ridiculous. If it was consentual, he shouldn’t face any charges. Didn’t kids once married at 15, and that was the norm?
No, but I think they both deserve a good smack upside the head, and her mother needs to stop writing that parenting book and go to some parenting classes. She let her 16 year old daughter live with her 19 year old boyfriend, and we’re all surprised this happened???
no.
I think that the law is right in setting the age of consent at 17, because young girls can easily be made to think they consent when really, they don’t want to do it.
Manipulated.
But seeing as she’s 16, it’s up to her parents.
I don’t think the state can do anything about it unless her parents say so. The only reason they know of the issue is because she’s in the public eye.
If there was a 16 yr old pregnant girl that wasn’t famous, and her 19 yr old boyfriend got her pregnant in louisiana, but the parents didn’t press charges, no one would hear of it.
Leave it to the parents.
No.
Unless he raped her.
& I mean ACTUALLY raped her.
Dear Dan,
I can’t help but notice that your recent entries feature lots of photos of women, but not of men.
Could this be considered sexist in any way?
All things considered, however, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
No way! I heard the Spears parents cancelled writing a how to raise child book though-in light of this.
No, we should just kill them both. I’m thinking hangings during half-time of the superbowl.
I think you should get 1 year in prison for every year older than her he is beyond 2 or 3 years difference. That he should pay a fair amount of child support. Maybe a quarter of the costs that it takes to raise a kid in a middle-class home. Why only a quarter? So that young girls won’t see making babies as the next low-class career of the 21st century. Let the penalty help alleviate the difficuly, but not eliminate the difficulty.
What? He lied to her and she believed it? Why didn’t she believe her ‘rents when they said guys would lie to her to get into her pants?
Okay.. I’m done.
Honestly, not 10 years. If she was, I don’t know, 13, it might be different. But she’s 16. As much as we hate to admit it, kids do have sex then.
I never really understood how it was rape at that age if it was consensual. I don’t know.
Isn’t 16 the age of consent in most states? … Maybe not in Louisiana, but just about everywhere else, that’s what I thought it was. So if 16 IS the age of consent there, there’s no way he COULD get thrown into jail, because consent was given.
It is their choice to have sex, but also he is still a “teen” himself. I have never understood why statitory rape starts at age 19. Though I think teens shouldn’t be engaging in sex, if it’s consentual it’s technically not rape.
Well.. he knew it was illegal.
I’d say it doesn’t matter if it was consensual.. It’s still “illegal”.
He should’ve (SHE should’ve, as well) thought before playing around.
Naaaaah
No, but a lot of men are in prison for it.
Just follow the age consent in the state, it doesn’t matter what we think it should be. As a massive group of people, we really don’t know what we want, the state did what they thought was best, so get over it.
Besides, they’re just trying to get that kid in jail so they can be further entertained.
Omg drama ;X
“Just foDellow the age consent in the state, it doesn’t matter what we think it should be. As a massive group of people, we really don’t know what we want, the state did what they thought was best, so get over it.
Besides, they’re just trying to get that kid in jail so they can be further entertained.
Omg drama ;X”
People elect representatives to legislate, but they legislate for us, if we(majority) have a problem with the law, then it should be changed.
That’s called Democracy
No
I know someone that was dating 17 years old girl and he was in his late 20′s. Believe it or not, that was over 10 years ago and they are still together and have two kids.
To Dan’s question, No.
This whole thing is pointless. They may not go and get him but they should; or better yet, go and cuff her for being irresponsible and selling the story to the media to attract negative press just like her sister.
Dont want to hear any replies to my comments either, by the way. that was my opinion end of story.
No way. I don’t think that there should be an age where you can lock people away for having sex with someone younger if the younger person was consenting.
Actually, I think that the age should be 10 and under. Only if you have sex with someone 10 and under should you be put away, because then they haven’t even had the chance to hit puberty yet, or have just started getting their period less than a year ago, so even if they said yes, they’re not really prepared for it mentally or physically.
Not if it’s consentual.
No
I totally agree with Arcane67.
“No. However, if some 19 year old boy was even THINKING of trying to
convince my 16 year old daughter to have sex with him I would gently,
kindly, patiently explain to him the error of his ways with a 2×4
upside his head until he wished he was in prison for 10 years.”
Not that I have a 16 year old daughter, or any kids for that matter. While it was more than likely consensual, come on, you guys gotta think there’s at least something a little bit icky about this situation.
While I understand that “historically” people used to get married a lot younger, they also “historically” didn’t usually go to school past the 8th grade or go on to college for that matter. Plus most people didn’t live nearly as long then as they do now. We are perhaps babying our teens more than necessary, but she still probably didn’t fully understand the consequences of her actions.
As a Christian I maintain that there is a reason that God has rules for certain things in life. Those rules are to protect us, not to keep us from having fun.
Also why have there been so many posts about this lately, slow week?
It certainly seems as though she wanted sex as much as he did.
No, I don’t think he should go to prison.
But, your question isn’t specificlly about him and her. Rules should definitely be enforced to make sure that this kind of thing isn’t happening all the time. Oh, wait, it already IS happening all the time.
My guess is that she is a stupid whore like her sister… If her boyfriend does go to jail for it though, he’ll go on the sexual predator’s web site… They’ll just put down that he sexually offended a female from the age of 13-17. Everyone who see’s his picture and profile will assume that he raped a 13 year-old girl. Sucks to be him.
Not if it was consentual… statutory rape is such a gray area!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y75/fffangirl/pdvd0376wc.png
I don’t even think statutory rape EXISTS if you’re 16.
Rape is forcibly taking sex.
A 16 year old knows what sex is.
Therefore she can make the decision.
Statutory laws need to be changed to 14 years old. Seriously.
First off, he can’t go to jail unless her parents are going to press charges, which I highly doubt.
Secondly, I think that at 16 years old, she had enough knowledge about sex and the repercussions of sex, that she knew pretty damn well what she was doing, and so did he. Obviously, she consented to the sex, and plus — she LIVED with the man!
if it was rape…but in this case it seems like it was not only ok with Jamie Lynn…but also her mother didnt seem to have a problem with her 16 year old living with him…until now but that was her own doing its hard to feel sorry for her.
a baby having a baby…
he’s retarded, she’s retarded. this whole world will soon be overpopulated with idiots. This must be why they are making movies about epidemics spreading. Idiocy is becoming to be known as a disease and will be spread all over the world…no one is safe anymore…
i’m still laughing so hard cause i thought she was such an innocent little girl, til she got knocked up. now she’s just as screwed as her sister.
No. She wasn’t raped. It’s her bf so she most likely consented to it.
No.but they both deserve a good smack upside the head.
I think it is ridiculous that 16 year olds are having sex- but it is nothing new- I don’t understand why this is big news. Is it because she is actually pregnant and not killing her baby or because she has had sex at 16? BTW why is she allowed to date at 18 year old guy? The whole thing is sad. I don’t think it is rape and that he should go to jail but I do think her parents have done no her any favors by allowing her to be with a guy at her age. She is a child even though she is 16. Also, she dresses too sexy and wears too much make up. She needed to still be hugged and kissed by her parents, not by some 18 year old guy. Girls and guys are so messed up by sleeping with so many people and having their hearts broken and their are so screwed up that their marriages fail as well- if and when they get married and then how many times are they going to marry and how many more children are they going to bring into their screwed up world? So, is the big news here that she is pregnant or that she is having sex at all. Because millions of 16 years old children have sex. That is why my children are going to be under my love and care and I am going to protect their hearts and bodies until marriage- God willing! I was 16 once and I was smart enough to know teenage boys want is sex and that there is no love there. I think it is very rare to meet someone at 16 sleep with them, “because you are in love” and stay with them the rest of your life. Girls don’t be stupid don’t- remain pure and save yourself a lot of heartache.
No, this whole situation is ridiculous. My cousin is in jail for the same issue. He was convicted of statutory rape by his girlfriend’s mother (at the time) and was later sent to prison for “violating” his probation. So he is now in prison for a year away from his wife and child for statutory rape of a minor which was only a 2 or 3 year difference. I understand the statutory rape being an issue when it is a much older person taking advantage of an underage person, but to prosecute a consensual teenage lover is just ridiculous.
No, especially if its true her mom was letting Jamie Lynn live with him!
Now that’s just playing stupid. But’s its the law. He is considered to be an adult now and Jamie Lynn is considered to be a minor. So, he had sex with a minor, which is a serious offense. But, should he get 10 years in prison, no. That’s just way too harsh.
Man, I just saw on the news where a 16 year old is being charged as an adult in the death of her daughter. Now I dont think people should go to jail for sex, but just because you can bump uglies doesnt mean you should. Producing a baby is EASY breezy… Im all for shoving a cork into some people untill they are adults. I know that sounds very… forward… but come on… Im not for babies raising babies.
I ask you, where was her mother… oh, thats right… its the Spears woman… that explains a lot.
Absolutely not. Don’t get me started on how ridiculous many age of consent laws are…
No. And that’s a BIG NO!
It is not whether she consented or not. A 15 or 16 year old girl does not have the capability of making that kind of life changing decision. And a young man at 18 or 19 is considered an adult, he should not approach an underage girl for sex, especially if he knew the laws about that. That is why the laws are in place like that, to protect underage girls from having to make those kind of decisions before they are ready to or need to.
Never.
It wasn’t rape if she was willing.
I don’t think he should be, no.
Both should go to Jail, 10 years? That’s too much. Not only them, their parent should be going to jail too. They can spend about 25 years each. hehehe
The Signature Of A True Human Is The Smile He/She Brings On The Face Of Others.
LonelyPoet.
Nope.
it all depends on her mom and dad i guess
Dan, you sure have posted a lot about this…is there a reason why?
I have a hard time seeing sending someone to jail for consensual sex. I’m not saying it’s right, but immoral doesn’t necessarily equal illegal.
If she consented to it, he shouldn’t get jail time.
Of course not. Now, it would be different if her boyfriend was say, 23 and she was 16. I think that’s a bit too much. Three years isn’t that big of a difference.
That law was only enacted to keep pedophiles from touching little girls anywho, not teenagers that are in love.
I think they should change that law to five years difference.
I’m not sure, but I think its up to the parents of the ‘rape victim’ in Louisiana if charges are to be brought up.
I think they should let them live their lives…it seemed to be concentual sex and she’s being mature …she didnt have to display her pregnancy in public she could have taken alternative options , If the father is responsible they should let them live their lives. There are many teenage mothers out there without the kind of financial backing that she has and they are surviving !!! Tell me if she was a regular joe in the similar situation would you even pay any attention to it unless you were somehow directly affected? Let them make their lives how they deem possible.
As long as it was consensual, I don’t think he should have to do any time in jail.
The age of consent makes things all messy. I’m not even sure on what the age of consent is where I live. I think it’s 16, but only if you partner is 18 or under. Anything over 18 and you have to be 18 and over as well. I think. Ahh, it’s confusing!
You are deemed to be on notice of the laws that govern you. I have no issue with him being charged and facing jail. I doubt he would ever see a day in jail, but that is up to the judge and jury to decide that if charges are brought against him. In the world of teenagers, I think that the difference between 16 and 19 is much larger than 26 and 29. If anything I think that her mother needs to have some sense smacked into her. She clearly didn’t do a good job raising these girls to make responsible decisions. And another thing, next time these silly kids should use protection, especially after the shining example this girl’s older sister has been on getting knocked up.
NO!
Yes. There is a huge difference between a 19 and 16 year old. Having grown up in La, everyone knows these law and makes jokes of them, but it is common knowledge. Once you leave high school, you leave the high school girls alone because of that law. Its a good one.
No. That is ridiculous, but not moreso than expanding the meaning of rape to events that are not rape at all. Doing that diminishes the seriousness of rape, and I think is truly insulting to those who actually know what it is. Expanding meaning and redefining terms we all (used to) know the meaning of seems to be an American trend.
it really depends on whether she wanted to or not–without knowing her at all i’m still assuming she did. but consent is not all that’s in question with statutory rape–the reason it’s given special circumstance is that if she was pressured into sex by an older (and assuming therefore more responsible) person.
she doesn’t seem to be unhappy about it, and as a celebrity is mostly independent from her parents anyway….yes i know we all complain about special priveleges for celebrities but often these people are forced to be mature at an earlier age than the rest of us….much like the Times 17y/o model with the mostly-naked photos.
No way. Though, if a 40-year-old had sex with a 16-year-old, then yes, I think it ought to be.
He is an adult. She is a minor. He took advantage of the fact that she was so young. He should go to jail. The law is the law. I teach high school and the young ladies want affection so badly, they will do almost anything for it – even let themselves be used and abused by guys. This so called boyfriend should go to jail. And mom should be taken a school of parenting . . . what was she thinking?
if she was consenting then it shouldn’t matter. and if he’s in jail, then how is he going to help raise the baby? that’s just stupidity.
Here is their punishment.
The boy must marry the girl he impregnated. He must be faithful to her and meet her every demand. Under no circumstance whatsoever will they ever be allowed to divorce, no matter how bad the marriage becomes. If it deteriorates into a loveless, sexless marriage with both of them being miserable, tough. They made the decision to have sex, so they can live together with the consequences as husband and wife. Hey, as Jim Steinman wrote in Paradise by the Dashboard Light, “I’m praying for the end of time… so I can end my time with you.” If one party does commit adultery, then the mandatory death penalty applies for the one who was unfaithful.
Ten years in prison is no punishment.
NO. As long as it was consensual.
Absurd is really the only word for this.
No I don’t. As long as it was consensual and she was at an age (or mental state) where she could consent and realize what she was doing…and I think at 16 she should be able to do that.
In Kentucky, the legal age of consent is 16 and at 16, a person can consent to engage in sexual activity with a person, even if they were 20 or more years older. I’m not quite sure about if one person is under 21 and the other is a little under 16. (This is from some research I have done).
No. I’m assuming it was consensual, he IS her boyfriend. And she was living with him. Plus, three years is NOT that much of an age difference.
hell no, thats stupid
It is sex.
and you know what.
WHO CARES..
I’m sure she wanted it and of course he wouldn’t turn it down.
Plus what the hell was she thinking selling the story to the media.
God did she think they would respond positively.
annnnd she sure “loves” her boyfriend if she would sell the story knowing it was “illegal”
Still. there is NO way i would give him jail time. I mean he himself is still a kid.
P.s I would attack the parents not the daughter or bf
Yes, because if it was anyone else they would probably press charges. He shouldn’t get out of it just because she is a celebrity. The law is the law, no matter if it was consenual or not.