A strane and disturbing bit of local news
Back on Tuesday, I came across a news story from a Chicago suburb of Northbrook. Last Saturday, the local police came across a car with fogged-up windows. Inside, they found a 15-year-old boy and a 24-year-old woman.
Naked.
To most people, that would be squicky enough. But I'm not most people. My fondness for older women is pretty well-documented on this LJ, and I've been fond of older women since I was.... 15, actually. At least that was the first time I noticed that quality in myself. So the fact that a 24-year-old woman had sex with a 15-year-old boy didn't really unsettle me. Maybe it should have, but it didn't.
What did give me pause was the fact that the woman was charged with sexual assault. See, when women of legal age are caught having sex with minors, they are charged with molestation or statutory rape. Sexual assault implied that the sex wasn't consensual. And no matter what my preferences are, rape is still rape. Because, contrary to what people tend to assume, women can coerce and rape men, and that's something I do take seriously.
Well, the Chicago Sun-Times dd a follow-up story and it turned out that the woman in question was a volunteer 'youth leader" of the church youth group the boy was a part of. Which is dubious under the best of circumstances. Even when both parties are adults, sleeping with someone who has power over you can cause problems. Having that power gives one all sorts of ways to coerce and influence an individual without using physical force. And when the other party is a teenager... Abusing that power becomes that much easier. Especially in a church setting. .A church is supposed to be a safe place, a place of emotional and spiritual healing. A place where adults, especially adults in position of power, are given a great deal of implicit trust.
In short... That does sound pretty damn serious. I am inclined to give both parties a benefit of a doubt until the facts of the case are heard, but so far, this isn't looking good.
Naked.
To most people, that would be squicky enough. But I'm not most people. My fondness for older women is pretty well-documented on this LJ, and I've been fond of older women since I was.... 15, actually. At least that was the first time I noticed that quality in myself. So the fact that a 24-year-old woman had sex with a 15-year-old boy didn't really unsettle me. Maybe it should have, but it didn't.
What did give me pause was the fact that the woman was charged with sexual assault. See, when women of legal age are caught having sex with minors, they are charged with molestation or statutory rape. Sexual assault implied that the sex wasn't consensual. And no matter what my preferences are, rape is still rape. Because, contrary to what people tend to assume, women can coerce and rape men, and that's something I do take seriously.
Well, the Chicago Sun-Times dd a follow-up story and it turned out that the woman in question was a volunteer 'youth leader" of the church youth group the boy was a part of. Which is dubious under the best of circumstances. Even when both parties are adults, sleeping with someone who has power over you can cause problems. Having that power gives one all sorts of ways to coerce and influence an individual without using physical force. And when the other party is a teenager... Abusing that power becomes that much easier. Especially in a church setting. .A church is supposed to be a safe place, a place of emotional and spiritual healing. A place where adults, especially adults in position of power, are given a great deal of implicit trust.
In short... That does sound pretty damn serious. I am inclined to give both parties a benefit of a doubt until the facts of the case are heard, but so far, this isn't looking good.