How about some details?
quote:
"The victim is a juvenile," said Daphne Police Sgt. Brian Gulsby, "less than the age of 16. And he is at least two years older than her. And it occurred in Daphne."
Those ages are important.
Second degree rape occurs, says Alabama Law, when the victim is less than age 16, and the alleged perpetrator is at least 16 years old and two years older than the victim.
"A lot of people refer to it as statutory rape," said Sgt. Gulsby.
Because the victim is a juvenile and an alleged victim of a sexual assault, little information will be given about the victim.
But Daphne police say they were not strangers.
"It was someone he knew, yes," Gulsby admitted. "There was no force or violence alleged."
So he was 18, she was 15 or 14 and they had consensual sex. The law considers that to be rape regardless of consent, so she is a "victim" and the state pursues charges.
Not to get on a huge soap box, but this guy will go to prison (if convicted) for a long time and will likely be considered a child sex offender for life. To me I think that is grossly unfair to both him and the "victim." I would be in support of a different law that applies in these situations involving high school students where the guy would be arrested and prosecuted, but with the opportunity for a less severe sentence and limited, if any, sex offender status. I know they have added the "two years apart" rule to help, but I don't think that goes far enough. Two high school students having consensual sex should not result in felony charges, at least not charges with the consequences this guy is facing.
There's no way this would ever happen though because the public would not react well during campaign season when political opponents accuse legislators of "going easy" on sex offenders.
