(This is not all encompassing, some States/jurisdictions treat it differently. This IS how it usually works out in the vast majority of cases.) (Also, I am not giving legal advice, I am making it known that situations like this do happen and pointing out how unjust it is, in those situations.)

Hello brothers,

Today I write about something that I believe everyone here at TRP should be made aware of. First I am going to define a few words/phrases.

Statutory Rape - Sexual activity involving someone below the "age of consent".

Age of Consent - The age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts, and is thus the minimum age of a person with whom another person is legally permitted to engage in sexual activity.

The elements of statutory rape are:

  1. Sexual Intercourse

  2. With a child under the age of consent.

Statutory rape is a Strict Liability crime.

Strict Liability - when a defendant is in legal jeopardy by virtue of an wrongful act, without any accompanying intent or mental state.

Body

Imagine you go to a 21 and up bar (or 18 and up club), and at the entrance to the bar/club/venue, there is a uniformed police officer checking the identification cards of people attempting to enter, to ensure that they are over the age of 18 or 21. Now imagine you enter said bar/club and eventually meet a beautiful woman. You assume she is over 18 or 21 because a police officer checked her ID. Maybe she is even ordering drinks from the bar. Maybe you even check her ID yourself. She ends up going home with you and you fuck her. Now imagine she used a FAKE ID to enter the bar and she is actually 17 years old. In this situation, the vast majority of the time (depending on the State), you would get charged with statutory rape.

Although this is obviously wrong and unjust, let us examine why, legally, the 17 year old should be charged with rape, and not the man.

Rape by Deception - a crime in which the perpetrator has the victim's sexual consent and compliance, but gains it through deception or fraudulent statements or actions.

By obtaining intercourse through false representation of a significant or material matter, the underage person commits rape by deception/fraud. The age of one's sexual partner is a crucially significant and material matter when it makes the difference between lawful intercourse and criminal intercourse. Obtaining intercourse through fraud constitutes rape because it negates the consent of the victim.

Although the argument for charging the underage person with rape by deception makes complete logical and moral sense, that is not how it works out in the real world.

In the above scenario, the underage person would not be charged with rape by deception, and the defrauded VICTIM would be charged with statutory rape, where he could face up to 25 years in prison.

To summarize, you are usually not protected against being charged with statutory rape. Even when you are defrauded and even when the underage person is present in a 21 and up bar that verifies the ID's via a uniformed police officer.

Tread carefully, and perhaps if more people become aware of this injustice we can one day correct this. (not likely)