I ran across this article by accident. I am sitting here screaming. The Republican President of Utah’s Senate has infuriated me. I know we are supposed to provide the news more or less dispassionately, but this? Oh, no. I’m not at all calm about this one. Let me show you why. From Raw Story:
The Republican president of Utah’s Senate managed to change consent laws after a relative was accused of raping a 13-year-old. Newsweek reported a Salt Lake City Tribune piece that Senate President J. Stuart Adams suggested that the Utah Legislature change the law that would change the child rape laws. “Previously, as adults, 18-year-old high school students who had sex with a 13-year-old could face a charge of child rape, a first-degree felony,” said the Tribune. “A conviction on that charge generally requires registration as a sex offender, while a conviction on the newly created lesser charge does not.”
It does NOT. What the hell??!!! The result of the rape of this child is a first-degree felony and requires the offender to register as a sex offender – except now it doesn’t??? This is just as bad as Epstein. And the abuser is now facing a lesser charge, for raping a 13-YEAR-OLD CHILD. A child! Good gods, what is America coming to, that someone could conveniently get the law changed for a relative?
The law was changed to offer a new option for prosecutors dealing with 13-year-old victims of child rape. “Seventeen-year-olds who have sex with 13-year-olds face a third-degree felony charge of unlawful sexual activity; the new law now allows prosecutors to file that same charge against an 18-year-old — if they are an enrolled high school student,” said the report. Adams swore that his involvement and familial relationship had nothing to do with the legislation.
“Some have suggested this change was made to benefit the case I was made aware of involving the high school senior. That is simply not true,” he claimed. “While the sponsor of [the bill] was aware of the case, I did not request the legislation and did not intervene or give input on the drafting of the bill.”
Suuuure he didn’t. I call bullsh!t. Could it be any more obvious? Because it is. The man doth protest too much. It’s too late now, sir. The law has been changed, and your fingerprints are all over it. And if they use the lesser charge? Your relative is going to walk away with a slap on the wrist. He’s going to get hit with NOTHING compared to the original charge. I. HATE. THIS.
The mother of the middle-school victim told the Tribune that she was shocked to hear about the new law. “It was out of nowhere,” she said. “I felt like I was punched in the gut.” She noted that in both the prosecution and the legislative debate, “her child was an afterthought.” “I feel like a law is the law, regardless of who you are, but that wasn’t what was going on here,” she said. “I feel like [the 18-year-old] just got special treatment …and nobody was going to say anything about it.” Under Utah law, anyone under 14 cannot consent.
This is something near and dear to my heart. I’m running out of words because I am so enraged about this. She’s a 13-year-old CHILD. Her life has been wrecked. I don’t know how or if she’ll recover from this. It’s not exactly easy to get past. Talking about it is hard. My heart goes out to this young lady. Thoughts and prayers won’t do a damn thing. She’s 13.
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I absolutely hate this as much as you! It seems according the current iteration of repubs, that sympathy is reserved for the rapist and not the victim.
And this is the state of Christianity in a so-called Christian state……………………..