the best research i can find shows that the age of consent in massachusetts is 16.
my first thought: but what does the law say about this if minors are involved? i can't find anything on google, but it does get me to wondering ... if these actions were consensual, would the fact that all were under the age of 18 change things? if she were 16, would it be a crime still?
my first answer:
[T]he boys were between 16 and 18 years old. In Massachusetts, a 17-year-old can be charged as an adult, said David Traub, spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney Wiliam R. Keating, whose office is assisting in the investigation.
Under state law, anyone who has sexual intercourse or ''unnatural sexual intercourse" with someone under 16 can be imprisoned for life for statutory rape, even if the sex is consensual. "There is no mechanism in the law where someone can consent before the age of 16," said Traub.
is this right? should it be? the boys were between 15 and 17 ... assuming everything was consensual, why would the state have an interest in this?
maybe i'm jaded, or forgetting what life was like when i was 15. but i find it hard to believe that one year's difference in age makes for that much difference in the ability to make an informed, mature decision about whether or not to have sex.
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