Statutory Rape Offenders Statutory Rape

Statutory Rape Offenders

Statutory rape is one of those crimes considered to be status offenses, because the criminality of the behavior depends upon the status of the offender. Behavior that would be legal if the offender had a different status becomes illegal because of the offender's status. For statutory rape, that status is the offender's age. All states have laws that designate the age of consent for sexual activity. Though the laws vary, adults who have sex with children who are under the age of consent are committing sexual assault, regardless of whether or not the child consented to the sexual activity. Statutory rape laws are important, because they codify societal beliefs about when children are mature enough to consent to sexual activity. Statutory rape laws also reflect the reality that older predators are frequently able to manipulate child victims, so that the child may give actual consent to sexual activity, despite not actually wanting to be involved in such activity. In fact, one of the most difficult things for criminal justice professionals who deal with statutory rape is that the victims may not see themselves as victims and may not understand their victimization or the harmful results of the illegal sexual contact until many years after the conduct has occurred.

However, it is also important to remember that the class of statutory rape offenders is very broad. It obviously contains sexual predators, but it also contains young people who have exhibited poor judgment, but who probably pose very little, if any, actual danger to society. Most of society acknowledges a fundamental difference between a 40-year-old who preys on children and a teenager having sex with another teenager, but laws can penalize both types of conduct. As a result, it is important for people involved in the criminal justice system to be aware of the broad range of statutory rape offenders.

Definition

Although each state defines statutory rape in a specific manner, it generally describes "an offense that takes place when an individual (regardless of age) has consensual sexual relations with an individual not old enough to legally consent to the behavior" (Troup-Leasure & Snyder, 2005). As a result, statutory rape is, by definition, a nonforcible sexual assault. Individual state laws determine the age of consent, whether an offender has to be older than the victim by a certain number of years, and whether there is an enhancement penalty is the perpetrator is in a position of authority vis-a-vis the victim. Furthermore, while statutory rape laws have traditionally been used to protect female virtue, it is important to recall that these laws protect both male and female victims. Statutory rape is almost certainly underreported, because most victims do not believe that they have been victimized. However, the crime does not have to be reported by the victim. "Teachers and school counselors, for example, are legally obligated to report child abuse, which includes underage sexual activity and molestation, to authorities" (Burrell, 2009). In fact, "Statutory rape charges can be reported and filed by the victim, parents of the victim, professionals in mandatory reporting situations, and in most states they can be raised by the state. California has been a primary example of this filing charges against fathers of pregnant women who are, or were, minors at the time of conception and doing it at the protest of both the women and the parents of the involved parties" (Sexlaws.org, 2009).

Distinguishing statutory rape from forcible rape

The main characteristic separating statutory rape from forcible rape is that, in statutory rape scenarios, the victim has consented to the sexual contact. However, there are other differences between the two types of offense. First, in most jurisdictions, there is an age under which all sexual contact with a minor is considered rape. Generally, contact with a child under that age is generally considered child molestation, and whether or not a child gave consent and the age of the offender are considered absolutely irrelevant to charging decisions. There are some similarities between statutory rape and forcible rape. For example, both statutory rape victims and forcible rape victims are most likely to have had only one offender, and were likely to have been assaulted in a residence (Troup-Leasure & Snyder, 2005). Furthermore, many forcible rapes involve the use of weapons and result in physical injuries to the victim, but most statutory rapes do not involve weapon use or bodily injury (Troup-Leasure & Snyder, 2005). While both statutory and forcible rapes were most likely to be committed by acquaintances, statutory rapes were more frequently committed by boyfriends or girlfriends, and less frequently committed by family members than forcible rapes (Troup-Leasure & Snyder, 2005).

Characteristics of statutory rape incidents

Statutory rape offenders tend to target female victims, with male victims making up only 5% of statutory rape victims between the ages of 7 and 17 (Troup-Leasure & Snyder, 2005). However, it is important to keep in mind that rape, especially sexual assaults directed at children, is a much underreported crime. Children were most likely to be victimized at the ages of 14 and 15 (Troup-Leasure & Snyder, 2005). For female victims, 7 out of every 8 of them were victimized by males that were more than two years older than the victim (Troup-Leasure & Snyder, 2005). In fact, offenders tend to be significantly older than the victims. "At least half of the male offenders of female victims were 6 or more years older than their victims" (Troup-Leasure & Snyder, 2005). Moreover, more than 75% of female offenders of male victims were at least 6 years older than their victims" (Troup-Leasure & Snyder, 2005). As those statistics suggest, male offenders with female victims tend to be closer in age to their victims than female offenders with male victims.

Treatment of statutory rape offenders

States vary tremendously in their definition of statutory rape and their treatment of offenders. No state limits prosecution of statutory rape offenders to over age 21. However:

at least five states, (California, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and New York) that penalize statutory rape offenders who are 21 years old or older differently than those offenders under age 21. In Maryland, the difference is in designation of the offense and the penalty while Nevada just imposes a different penalty for the same offense. Usually the penalty is less severe when the offender is age 21 or older and the victim is over age 16 and more severe when the victim is under age 16 (Norman-Eady, 2003).

These laws reflect the reality of teenage dating and teenage sexuality. While it may be improper for an older teenager/young adult to have sex with a boyfriend or girlfriend, society seems to agree that if both actors are young, the power-differential is not as great as when the offender is significantly older than the victim.

Registration as a sex offender

How a state treats statutory rape, and whether elements of a particular crime trigger mandatory registration as a sex offender are issues of critical importance to statutory rape offenders. Sexual offenders, especially child predators, are extremely likely to reoffend. As a result, communities have demanded to be notified if convicted sex offenders live in the area. Moreover, many states limit post-release behavior of convicted sex offenders in meaningful ways, including mandatory registration as a sex offender. This registration can impact where an offender can live, what jobs an offender can hold, and the offender's acceptance back into society. All of these consequences are acceptable to the vast majority of people in society, if they can help reduce the risk that children will be victimized. However, are these consequences acceptable if they do not help reduce the risk of further victimization, which many people suggest is the case when a victim and an offender are close in age?