Statutory rape?

Calla Lily · Jun 19, 2008

My MC knows that the local tomcatting theater director is sleeping with a 16YO acting student. He's about to tell the cops about it, but has to be circumspect. (He knows because he's a vampire and noshed on said 16YO and tasted BC hormones in the blood AND THE NEXT DAY caught the director feeling her up.) So obviously he's can only report the feeling up and his "strong suspicions."

He could lie and say he saw them doing the deed when he went to drop off costumes at the theater. He would have no problem with this lie.

But--what kind of a crime is he reporting? Statutory rape? Child abuse? Is there an age cutoff for the latter? (They're in Massachusetts, if that makes a difference.) The director is also the murderer, and he's going to be exposed (no pun intended!) in his last murder because the cops are trailing him about the sex case.

Thanks!

pconsidine · Jun 19, 2008

Try searching "age of consent in Massachusetts." There are some odd special cases in Mass. law that might be relevant to your story.

StoryG27 · Jun 19, 2008

I know where I grew up in CO, the age of consent was 15. I'd look up the local law if I were you, like pconsidine suggested.

Calla Lily · Jun 19, 2008

Thanks! Can't believe I didn't think to just look up "age of consent." I was worried about spider bots seeing "rape" and "child abuse". Duh.

Here's the link to age of consent, among other issues. (It's 16 for women in MA--my character just became a 15YO.

)

IceCreamEmpress · Jun 19, 2008

callalily61 said:
{The age of consent is} 16 for women in MA

Actually, it's the same for both genders. The relevant law is MGL 265:23, and it refers to "a child under sixteen years of age."

There is some kind of an urban myth out there in many places that it's different for male and female minors in Massachusetts. It is not.

pconsidine · Jun 19, 2008

Is that how age of consent is defined by the law? It seems a little vague to me.

Section 23. Whoever unlawfully has sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse, and abuses a child under sixteen years of age shall, for the first offense, be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any term of years, or, except as otherwise provided, for any term in a jail or house of correction, and for the second or subsequent offense by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any term of years, but not less than five years; provided, however, that a prosecution commenced under the provisions of this section shall not be placed on file or continued without a finding.

Horseshoes · Jun 19, 2008

If your theatre director has a supervisory relationship with her, some states bump the age of consent...intended to keep teachers from boffing their students...for ex AK is 16, unless the adult was her teacher (even some little seminar in theatre class)) then the age is higher. Make sure you check that MA doesn't have this Satch C law.

Calla Lily · Jun 19, 2008

Yes, I saw that, Horseshoes. I'm going to avoid the dificulty by making him the person who's also giving her pot. Yep, he's scum.

And thank you, Empress.

benbradley · Jun 19, 2008

Even if she's over the age of consent, he could be charged with "contributing to the delinquency of a minor."

callalily61 said:
Yes, I saw that, Horseshoes. I'm going to avoid the dificulty by making him the person who's also giving her pot. Yep, he's scum.

That appears to be a charge of distributing (a small quantity of) drugs, as well as a second charge of "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" (laws are interesting, often you can break several laws with just one act). You want him locked up for a long time? No problem...

Calla Lily · Jun 19, 2008

ben--I want multiple charges against him, like one kick to the balls after the other. They'll get him on drugs, statutory rape, and then the murder of his grandmother for her money--because he wanted to produce his "masterpiece" on stage.

And he's not the real bad guy of the book. Truly.

Izunya · Jun 20, 2008

callalily61 said:
M(He knows because he's a vampire and noshed on said 16YO and tasted BC hormones in the blood AND THE NEXT DAY caught the director feeling her up.) So obviously he's can only report the feeling up and his "strong suspicions."

To add to the vagueness: you should probably know (although the vampire doesn't have to) that birth control pills can be used for plenty of things other than birth control.

FEMALE BIOLOGY ALERT!!!

I got on 'em at age fourteen so that I would have a period every month. Without them, my cycle seemed to involve misery just short of hemmorhaging (yeah, I can't spell it) every six months. Evidently my body is not entirely sure what species it belongs to and thinks I ought to come into heat on a seasonal basis. I've also heard of women and girls who find that they reduce cramps, and even some people who find that they help with severe acne.

But, of course, it depends on what your vampire perceives. Birth control pills, IIRC, mimic the natural hormones that a woman's body puts out when she's pregnant, which shut the ovaries down and prevent them from releasing an egg that month. So the vampire might think she's pregnant, which means she's been having sex, which would point him to the theater director even if the theater director hadn't gotten that far yet.

Izunya

Calla Lily · Jun 20, 2008

Thanks, Izunya, I too was on the Pill for years for regularity and to decrease truly Godawful cramps.

But for the purposes of the book, he'll taste the chemical hormones, deduce that she's having sex (she comes on to the vamp, and he gives her a lecture about inappropriate relationships), then 2 days later will catch the director in semi-flagrante with the teenager.

JB_Finesse · Jun 20, 2008

callalily61 said:
Yes, I saw that, Horseshoes. I'm going to avoid the dificulty by making him the person who's also giving her pot. Yep, he's scum.

And thank you, Empress.

Sex AND free pot? God DAMN. If the sexes were reversed and I was in that situation...

Calla Lily · Jun 21, 2008

JB_Finesse said:
Sex AND free pot? God DAMN. If the sexes were reversed and I was in that situation...

*slaps JB* Corrupting a minor is bad, bad, bad--like, the worst. Silly man.

Think about it--this randy idiot is a worse character morally than my *vampire*. At least he engages in consensual sex with adults.

JB_Finesse · Jun 21, 2008

*cringes* Ow. I'm only 17! Child abuse! Child abuse!

Still, the fact that he's giving her pot doesn't really change my opinion either way, unless he's, like, taking advantage of her while she's stoned out of her mind.

Calla Lily · Jun 22, 2008

JB_Finesse said:
*cringes* Ow. I'm only 17! Child abuse! Child abuse!

Still, the fact that he's giving her pot doesn't really change my opinion either way, unless he's, like, taking advantage of her while she's stoned out of her mind.

Gads, I'm having trhis conversation with, essentially, my oldest son. *dies of old age*

Yes, he's getting her high and getting her soused and bonking her. He's lying to her about what a great talent she is and how she'll get her Big Break when she acts in his "brilliant play." Her alky mother (who beat her) died when she plowed into a bridge support and she's angry and rebelling and ripe for manipulative scum like the director.

The good news is, when my vampire goes to the cops and they catch him, she'll get a clue and start to straighten her life out.

katiemac · Jun 22, 2008

If he's also getting her pot and they're having sex while high, then technically she's "not sober." Of age or not, some laws state that consent cannot legally be given when people are intoxicated. So you could check out the laws in Mass for this regard, too.

Calla Lily · Jun 22, 2008

Cool. Thanks, katie.

All of the pot/booze/underage sex will happen off-screen, but when the cops arrest him in public and state the charges (starting with murder), my vampire might indicate that he was the catalyst. The main focus of the novel is how my vampire is going to convince his Disney princess that they should marry and let him nosh openly, while surviving a wannabe van Helsing. Lots o'plot.

Kalyke · Jun 22, 2008

For a reasonable answer to this, look up Woody Allen's relationship with wife's adopted daughter Soon-yi Preven. You had old director, underage girl, east coast (Connecticut), nearly everything that you have in your scenario happened between them. He was to be brought up on a molestation charge, but I don't know what happened to that. Obviously he was not damaged too badly. (For the record, they got married and are still happily married. He's 73, and she is about 38 I think).

Other than that, all I can say about the birth control has been brought up already. I personally think that this vampire should mind his own business. I always thought they were above mankind's sordid little tales.

Calla Lily · Jun 22, 2008

Thanks for posting, Use Her Name. My vamp is rather on the human side of things.

ideagirl · Jun 23, 2008

Use Her Name said:
For a reasonable answer to this, look up Woody Allen's relationship with wife's adopted daughter Soon-yi Preven. You had old director, underage girl, east coast (Connecticut), nearly everything that you have in your scenario happened between them. He was to be brought up on a molestation charge

There was never any risk of molestation charges for Woody Allen--Soon Yi was 21 years old when they started seeing each other. Socially speaking the situation was quite similar, but legally speaking, it wasn't, because she was an adult years past the age of consent.

ideagirl · Jun 23, 2008

katiemac said:
If he's also getting her pot and they're having sex while high, then technically she's "not sober." Of age or not, some laws state that consent cannot legally be given when people are intoxicated.

But in that case, nothing's going to happen legally unless the woman wants to pursue a case. That's the difference with statutory rape--a stat. rape charge will go ahead with or without the victim's cooperation. The legal distinction with consent is that if a drunk/high person is raped, the rapist cannot defend himself in court by arguing that she consented, whereas he would have that option if she'd been sober. However, if the victim herself says she consented and doesn't want to pursue charges, it won't be possible for prosecutors to use her intoxication as a way of pursuing charges.

Calla Lily · Jun 23, 2008

Thanks for this great back-and-forth! I'm taking all this into account and will decide what I want to emphasize when the scumbag gets arrested.

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