Teen Sex Offenders Get Help from the Romeo and Juliet Law
Was Romeo a Sex Offender?
An 18-year old teen has been having consensual sex with his 15 year old girl friend for a year. When her mother finds out, she has him arrested. This happened to a young man in Tampa, Florida.
He went to trial and was found guilty of "lewd and lascivious behavior on a minor". As a result, he was jailed and later had to register as a sex offender.
Should he have to keep that label for the rest of his life? Is it even fair that he was prosecuted and jailed at all? Two teens having consensual sex happens. Should this young man bear the same stigma as a predator that has molested a little child?
This dilemma occurs usually when the male is 18 or 19 and his girlfriend is 14 or 15. They have been having consensual sex and the parent finds out. The boyfriend is arrested and goes to court. If he is found guilty, he is registered as a sex offender in the state data base. A Romeo and Juliet law passed in 2007 is trying to change this.
In Florida the law says that a minor (16 years or younger) cannot consent to having sexual intercourse. Therefore an older boyfriend or girlfriend can be charged with statutory rape, if he/she has sexual relations with someone age 16 or under.
The Florida sex offender list is no place for teen lovers, according to Senator Nancy Argenziano. She realized that the sex offender data base was meant to expose real dangerous predators not the kids down the street caught up in young love.
Valuable crime prevention resources were being wasted and young lives were being destroyed.
A law passed by Florida legislators is offering teen lovers a second chance. Called the Romeo and Juliet law, a judge can decide if the offender deserves the lifelong punishment of being labeled a sex offender.
According to the Florida senate, 250 people (all but six of them young men) have had their names, mug shots, addresses and crimes removed from the Florida online sex offender data base.
To qualify the victim must have been at least 14 years old, and the offender no more than 4 years older. The sex must have been consensual and the offender must not have had any other sexual convictions.
Is the teen lover mentioned above a sexual predator? The Romeo and Juliet law finally said "No". Ten years after his arrest, a judge decided his name could be removed from the Florida state sex offender data base.
He is now free to travel without telling deputies. He can live where he wants and go to parks and movies again like everyone else. He can go on with his life.
The Romeo and Juliet law is now in effect in Florida, Connecticut, Indiana and Texas.
Sources:
St. Pete Times
http://womenissues.about.com/od/datingandsex/a/Romeo-and-Julie.htm
Published by Memmay Moore
I am a transfer to Tampa from Boston where I had many years experience in health and nutrition education. I am now enjoying a new career in writing and photography. View profile
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31 Comments
Post a CommentGood report on this issue!
Merry Christmas!
I agree that they should not be labeled as sex offenders and if the parents payed more attention to what there daughter was doing then maybe this would of not happened. Kids and young adults are not aware of such things and should they be labeled the answer is no and the families of such situations should handle it behind close doors.
Great article. This is a very complicated issue, and I think you've handled it well.
I agree with Patricia on this one. I think that there is a fine line and they do need to be watched. There are very mature 15 year olds, but I have to wonder about an 18 year old being in a relationship with a 15 year old.
Great report Memmay!
I see your point, but you have teo wonder about an 18 or 19 year old who doesn't see the problem with having sex with a 14 or 15 year old. I think they bear watching until age 25, and if nothing untoward happens, THEN expunge their record. Four years age difference certainly matter when the girl is only 14 or 15.
Good article, thanks!
I believe studies are showing that kids are having sex as eary as 12 years old so the Romeo and Juliet law would come into play for that. On the other hand, I can certainly understand the parents getting angry but if the sex was going on for a year, it wasn't just the boy who was consenting.
I like this law, I had never heard of it before, My son just turned 18 and is a senior this year, his birthday is Sept 7th so he was 7 days late to be 5 to start school and he had to wait a whole year, He is older that 99% of his class, what is he suppose to do, he hasn't dated much, but now look what we have to worry about??