Is a 19 year-old who has consensual sex with a 16-year old a pedophile to you?

Question

I don't mean legally, but morally to you (the thing that determines our laws)?

Woah! Woah! Woah! LET ME CLARIFY SOMETHING: THIS IS A HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION!! It has nothing to do with me, whatsoever! I'm just asking a situational ethics question, so stop addressing your answers to me as if I'm talking about myself! I'm not interested in anyone under 18, and THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME! I actually had in mind, the son of an acquaintence of mine who at 18 slept with a 15 year old, and now he's having to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender. Is there not something wrong with that picture? He's being put in prison for years where HE WILL GET RAPED. So, who's the rapist here? This boy, or the state? I pushed both ages up a year in the question, because a 16 year old can drive, btw.

I forgot to mention (and some of you have called to my attention) a couple things: a 16 year old can get a waiver to marry a 19 year old. And at 16 you can become emancipated from your parents.

Answer 1

Definitely Yes.
And, "It Is Not Consensual" when talking about a minor, a child, less than at least 18 years of age.
Hit the books, and hit them really hard. Because many, upon many studies have been done and time and time again has been found that, and pay attention to this:
-"Children up to the age of teenage years, are not able to make right decisions due to the still developing brain. Their brain have not reach the maturity stage to make adult decisions".
SO, Do Not Call It "Consensual". Laws were made base on such studies.
We have to get rid of people like that. As simple as that.

-(Sick people such as pedophiles do not, "Do Not", deserve a place in a free society.)-

Answer 2

Actually, no, mainly because it already is covered under "statutory rape'. A pedophile is one whom targets children of an age too low, whom usually know nothing about sex for the most part. Being America...one can't claim that of a 16 year old now days.
Not that I condone the behaviour, but you purests need a clue. Do you think Romeo and Juliet was just some play ? You go back in history, especially the medievil times and people were married or given for marriage routinely at 15 and 16, sometimes younger. It is the culture you are in, the opinion's of the people for what is decent and any tragedy that seems to always change the rules in a society. Like in England when the black plague was killin off many I can't claim to know why people decided to raise the age to 18 but you can't act shocked and dismayed for such a relationship when it was done many times in many countries. It just happens to be against the law as of now...at least if there's no parental approval. It is legal in certain states if parental approval is obtained...for marriage that is....but with marriage usually comes sex.
Of course statistics show that if the 19 year old were male, he would be viewed much worse by society than if the 19 year old were female. So that kind of blows the whole arguement people have about their purest veiws of the law.

Answer 3

I guess, I'd call it robbing the cradle.

There's the whole thing that a sex with a minor cannot be consensual...I believe...as the minor cannot possibly know if that's truly what they want, in accordance to the way the law sees it. I'm not stating whether or not this is true though.

I know it sounds strange, because if they were 33 and 30, no one would think anything of it. In fact, my fiance is actually 5.5 years older than me. He's 33, and I'm 27, is it morally wrong? Heck no, it's normal. Would it be when he was 20 and I was 14, going on 15?

It's amazing how that works. It's part of society now, with the thoughtful mind towards 18 being the age when a child matures into an adult.

Answer 4

No, because in the state I live in, 16 is the age to consent to sex. It is also the age to be emancipated and you can also quit school at 16 these days. If the guy is only 19 he is really still in his teen aged years. There is really not much of an age difference and have you seen some of these 16 year olds these days? Also a 16 year old knows what they are doing and alot of 19 year olds act just as immature as some 16 year olds. A pedophile is one of those nasty old men who are much older and go after little girls like age 10 or so. I don't see how a 16 year old and a 19 year old being together can even compare to that.

Answer 5

Psychologically, pedophilia is defined as "adult obtainment of sexual gratification by engaging in sexual activities with young children." [an adult with a sexual desire, fantasy, or attraction for a child or children].
In this case, one must decide if a 16 yr old is a child or not. At 16, one is an adult in just a few states and considered a juvenile in the other states. At 16 every state allows a person to do some adult activities, including marriage in some states, while prohibiting other adult activities.
For those who are adamant in saying the 19 yr old IS a pedophile, would they feel the same if the couple were married? How about if they knew their own grandparents or great-grandparents had engaged in sex at those listed ages? Let's face the fact that marriage was pretty common for a girl by 16 not all that many years ago and quite commonly, the husband was 19 or older. Do you have a pedophile in your family tree?

Legally it is easy for me to say the 19 yr old has committed a crime in I think it is now 9 states. The age of consent in the other states makes this a legal act [including several with the age of consent at 14-15].

So, if the government has set the age of consent at 16 or under, then the 19 yr old would not be a pedophile since the psychological definition states a pedophile is a person with a preference for obtaining sexual gratification through contact with youngsters defined legally as UNDERAGE.

Answer 6

You're asking whether it is morally wrong. As with any moral question, it is up to the person to whom the situation applies to objectively answer WHY he is engaging in that behavior. In this situation, because both parties are teenagers, I think it's still generally accepted. Legally, I believe there is a 3-year window.

Personally, I would frown on it because the 19 year old is out of high school and needs to turn his attention to college-age girls. If both teenagers were attending the same school, aged 18 and 15, then I would personally be more at ease with it.

However, when the girl is under 18, it's ultimately up to her parents to decide whether or not an intimate relationship constitutes statutory rape. Since she's a minor, her folks can press charges at any time, regardless of whether or not the sex is consensual.

Answer 7

Yes. Legally a 16 year old cannot have consensual sex with an adult, by definition, because the minor is considered incapable of making that sort of decision, even if consensual. Morally, there can be a vast difference on so many levels between 16 and 19. I think it's wrong morally.

Answer 8

I think that things are getting way to far out of control,I mean they are both teens and consented.Why should they go to jail for acting on their desires no one was hurt or raped so people if your having sex dont tell anyone.I do not think that sex with a 16 and 19 yr old is something that should even make the papers.

Answer 9

First let us try the word pedophile-

Pedophilia or paedophilia (see spelling differences) is the primary or exclusive sexual attraction by adults to prepubescent youths. A person with this attraction is called a pedophile or paedophile.[1] The ICD-10 and DSM IV, which are standard medical diagnosis manuals, currently describe pedophilia as a paraphilia and mental disorder of adults or older youths, if it causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

The term pedophile is also used colloquially to denote an adult who is sexually attracted to adolescents or youths below the local age of consent,[2] as well as those accused or convicted of child sexual abuse or child pornography related offences.

For your question, it does not pertain to the person of 19 with consensual sex with 16 yrs/old. No he is not considered a pedophile.

Answer 10

I don't know for sure, are you a 19 old woman molesting my 16 year old son.
He's going to like it really well...
OBVIOUSLY!
or are you a 19 year old man molesting my 16 year old daughter?
I don't think she's going to enjoy it much....
you can't win
so Yes,
a 19 year old having sex with a 16 year old is a pedophile.
the 19 year old can't win
one law for all
if I get prosecuted,
YOU
get prosecuted
if you are guilty
18 and over is an adult
17 and younger is a minor
having sex with someone who is under 18 regardless of the state law that says they can have consensual sex is immaterial
if their parents want to prosecute you
you're toast.
That's the truth
Thankfully,
I'm not guilty
good luck
"usaithe" says 12 and under
I don't want that person anywhere near my family.