This article says he was 18 at the time and the charges involve a video. If he and his slightly younger girlfriend recorded themselves having sex, that’s a different story than most people would assume from the headline.
Other news stories about him suggest he’s an asshole, and his parents are obviously assholes, but we should not condemn teenagers as pedophiles for having sex with similar-age teenagers.
His charges include sexual exploitation of a child and child exploitation with intent to “deal in, sell or distribute… any sexually exploitative material,”
Similar age is one thing. “Deal in, sell, or distribute…” is quite a bit more.
“Distribute” could mean “show to any person”, even with the consent of all involved when one of them is underage. These laws weren’t designed for teenagers with smartphones.
a video shared on social media showed him having sex with a 17-year-old girl.
Even if he just turned 18 (and there are Romeo and Juliet laws protecting that), that is such a profoundly stupid idea. It’s already crass sharing it with a few friends, but you posted it online? Idiot.
This article says he was 18 at the time and the charges involve a video. If he and his slightly younger girlfriend recorded themselves having sex, that’s a different story than most people would assume from the headline.
Other news stories about him suggest he’s an asshole, and his parents are obviously assholes, but we should not condemn teenagers as pedophiles for having sex with similar-age teenagers.
Similar age is one thing. “Deal in, sell, or distribute…” is quite a bit more.
“Distribute” could mean “show to any person”, even with the consent of all involved when one of them is underage. These laws weren’t designed for teenagers with smartphones.
Even if he just turned 18 (and there are Romeo and Juliet laws protecting that), that is such a profoundly stupid idea. It’s already crass sharing it with a few friends, but you posted it online? Idiot.
That he’s stupid, and an asshole is not in dispute.