Idaho could rewrite its statutory rape laws to exclude relationships between consenting teenagers. The changes would decriminalize sex between teenage girls aged 16 or 17 with partners up to three years older than them. The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee agreed Wednesday to introduce the legal change introduced by Sen. Brent Hill, R-Rexburg.
“I don’t believe that an 18-year-old boy’s indiscretion with a willing 17-year-old girlfriend ranks up there with the degenerates that rape women,” Hill said. “I was surprised to see it lumped in there with some of the most terrible crimes a person could commit.” Current Idaho rape laws list statutory rape, called sexual penetration when a woman is under 18, alongside other forms of rape. Punishment ranges between one year and a life sentence. “The law itself just didn’t seem right to me. It makes no separation between statutory rape and forcible rape.”
Hill said that he doesn’t condone any form of premarital sex, but doesn’t want Idaho laws to destroy a man’s life because of something stupid he does with his girlfriend. An Idaho Department of Education survey from 2009 showed that 48 percent of high school seniors have had sexual intercourse. The change to state law would allow consensual penetration between 16-year-old girls and boys up to age 19, and 17-year-old girls and boys up to age 20. Sexual acts with children under 16 are punishable by lewd conduct laws. Currently, only men can be prosecuted under Idaho’s rape laws. Hill said only four other states’ rape laws are not gender neutral. Hill’s proposal would change the state’s laws dealing with the rape of men to include a similar age limit.
No senators voted against introducing the plan. Hill said he worked with other lawmakers and law enforcement officials on the changes to the statutory rape law, and said that the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association opposes the plan. The text of Hill’s legislation is available here.
Of course the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Assoc opposes the plan, they oppose any plan that would decriminalize an act even if it makes sense to do so. Given that we know at least fifty percent of teenagers are having sex most people would agree that if it’s consensual, it’s not a crime. The crime is the complete waste of state resources in prosecuting these cases!
Please listen to my story.
My son was in a relationship when he was 17, his girl friend was 15, they were in High school together. At the time Bingham county was looking into a 42 year old who was buying alcohol and drugs for teenagers in exchange for sex. Unfortunately my son’s girlfriend had friends who was being taken advantage of by this man. The detective learned of my son’s name at the time he was 17 years old and scheduled to go to the military in august, when the detective came over he was wanting more info about this 42 year old, I told my son to be honest. My son told him about his relationship with his girl friend as well as helped them with the case. One month after my sons 18th birthday, he was arrested for rape, 4 counts (every time he had sexual relations with his girl friend). My son is now 23 years old and still sitting in the Boise penitentary after the state made it impossible for him to be successful. his life is destroyed, his dream of ever serving our country..gone! going to college to better himself not going to happen, the charge will haunt him for the rest of his life, as well as his family! then we learn of a Mayor in St Anthony charged with rape of a 16 year old, he is 62! what is wrong with this picture?
The 62 year old Mayor of St. Anthony Idaho who has been charged with raping a 16 year old girl did not spend a day in jail, yet my son isn’t up for parole until 2013..he was charged with 4 counts of rape (reduced to 2)with his high school girl friend whom by the way testified they were in a relationship and consensual. Can you imagine visiting your son in prison, needless to say the Maximum unit in Boise. He is my only son and has been prayed upon in the system, I am sickened over all of this!
I was a virgin, 16, when my brother in law, 27/ a doctor to top it off, got me drunk and raped me while I was passed out, then threatened to kill my sister if I told anyone. He kept after me for 3 yrs. while I kept running away, going away summers to work, going to an all girls school, then going to California once I graduated HS. He also used tactics to make me feel he was the one that cared and made up stories about other family members to make me think they didn’t care about me. In hind sight I should have told right away but I was AFRAID.
I tried to protect my family esp. my 2 nephews and 1 niece that my sister had children with him. SO I never came forward with the truth until I hit peri-menapause/menapause. I had self medicated during the years with alcohol and then my own family “labeled” me an alcoholic even though I am not.
When I went to them for support they said to forget it, it was over???? My oldest brother being a family pyscologist whom my father put through all Ivy League colleges such as Brown, Radcliff, Harvard, Duke, Berkley- he did nothing what so ever except say he hopes the ex-brother-in -law can live with his conscience.
I am sure any other rape victim would receive compassion and love. He ruined my dreams of marrying my husband as I was waiting till then to loose my virginity as I had been brought up.
Money talks even for the guilty and there is no justice without a good lawyer.
I am still wondering if I should pursue charges since all the Cathelic priests are finally being held accountable years after the perpatrations of trusted youth. Most rape victims cannot come to terms with what happened until their 40′s…..
There needs to be a legal over haul in all areas of the government not just on this but in divorce and other litagations.
[...] Read IdahoReporter.com’s first story on Hill’s change to state rape laws here. The text of the legislation is available here. [...]
I find the stories by Terri and Belinda a fucking horrific tale, there are so many things wrong with this country these days and yet the people we elect into office and the people that are hired to protect the United States and it’s citizens spend more time worrying about other countries and allowing low level people who think they are in positions of power to ruin even more lives of the people in this country. Belinda you should write letters and I mean lots of letters to your congressman and senator and even further up the chain of command such as the supreme court system and tell them about this, find out what it takes to file formal grievances and do it, file formal inquiries with the supreme court of Idaho and the United States supreme court and I am sorry that something like this has happened to your son. Terri, first off let me say I am deeply sorry about what has happened to you and I hope your getting some kind of counseling, you need to see a professional and yes you should pursue charges against this asshole, and your right a good lawyer helps a lot, but the more noise you make the more people have to pay attention and you need to make lots of noise, do some research of your own into lawyers in your area find those that specialize rape cases and you might find one willing to do a pro bono case a lot of lawyers do one or two a year to help make them look good. Our so called leaders need to start paying more attention to the people in this country and doing what it takes to make our people feel safe and help our homeless and unemployed and reporting on all the horrific tragedies that are going on here in America, I for one don’t give a flying fuck about which celebrity went to rehab or what stars are getting married or divorced or whether or not they should legalize marijuana how about going out and reporting on stories like the two above, how about fighting for the people in this country that have to beg and steal to eat everyday… How about contributing millions of dollars in aid to OUR food shelters and programs to feed and cloth the people in this country. People with stories like those above should never have had it happen to them in the first place and if it did those responsible should be paying the price instead of the innocent.
I was raped the day after my 15th birthday by an 18 year old I had met briefly that same night. This rape resulted in a pregnancy and the birth of my son Chris. After 4 years, this monster found me and my son and after giving the police his information the Ada county prosecutors decided to DO NOTHING! They said it was in the best interest of the child to have both parents in his life and prosecuting him was at their discretion. I continue to suffer from PTSD and have had to deal with seeing this man on a weekly basis. Within 5 mos of him finding me, he went for joint custody and shared visitation and I was forced to give my 4 year old to this man. What is wrong with this state? How can the prosecutors be allowed to abuse their discretion. People who should be in jail arent and people who shouldn’t be are. With a DNA test in hand and a copy of the idaho statute that states, if lewd conduct with a minor is committed and results in the birth of a child, the offending parent loses all parental rights. Why do we even have these statutes in place if they aren’t being followed. I am now stuck on a 50 mile chain until my son turns 18 unless I give up complete custody to this monster or he consents. My dreams of college and becoming a marine biologist are down the drain for years. I graduated public high school 2 years early with honors. I am still pursuing college. This man continues to haunt me everyday. Unless justice is done, I will never be able to heal and move on with my life….Why and how could this happen?
What about a 17yr old boy & A 22yr old girl with a child? Isn’t that illegal?