Letters to the Editor
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Why age of consent matters
Adolescent brains are not the same as adult brains. During puberty, brain development happens at a pace unseen since infancy and early toddlerhood (http://www.duke.edu/~amwhite/Adolescence/adolescent3.html for starters).
Centers of the brain that control long-term thinking develop long after parts of the brain that involve risk-taking. It is completely normal for tweens and teens to engage in risky behavior without thinking through the consequences and repercussions of their actions.
It is for *this reason* that societies have developed laws tthat protect aolescents from themnselves. These include laws against voting, employment, owning firearms, serving in the military, driving, drinking, or engaging in sex with adults before a certain age.
No matter how "mature" a girl might look, no matter how sophisticated she seems, no matter if she says she's willing ... a little girl is incapable of making decisions the way an adult woman can.
I find it fascinating that the defendant in this case is getting sucvh an easy ride in public opinion. The "it's not his fault; she looked old enough" is so stupid. He met a little girl in a park and got a blow job in a secluded part of the park. No one is calling him on his piss-poor judgement. If a woman had met a man in a bar, followed him to the bathroom and was brutally beaten and raped, how many of these same people would be saying "Well, she should have known bewtter ... she should have behaved more responsibly ... what did she think was going to happen ... she got what she deserved ..." ????
So here's a tip for any guy who doesn't know better. The only women who consent to sex in public within moments of meeting you are wither pros, or incompetent. Any way you look at it, accepting their offer is likely to be a crime. Now you've been warned.