Can My Son Be Charged With Stautory Rape?

My 17 Yr Old Son Went On A Blind Prom Date With A 15 Yr Old Girl "with Her Parents Permission" And Has Since Then Became Very Close And Are Considered As Boyfriend/girlfriend. Being That She Is Only 15 And Does Not Have Permission To Date Very Much Yet, The Little Time They Spend Together Is At School, Our Home With Me (his Mom) Present, Etc...very Little Time Alone, In Other Words....and Her Parents Were Very Aware Of This Activity.
Her Father Has Suddenly Decided That He No Longer Wants Her To See My Son And Has Threatened To File Statutory Rape Charges! Can He Be Charged For This...just Because Her Father Decided They Could Not See Each Other And They Obeyed His Wishes? We Live In The State Of Ga.

I am not licensed to practice in Georgia, so please do not consider this as a definitive statement on Georgia law. For that you would need to consult an attorney in your state. I did, however, check the Official Code of Georgia online. Here is the definition of statutory rape.

“Section 16-6-3. Statutory rape

“(a) A person commits the offense of statutory rape when he or she engages in sexual intercourse with any person under the age of 16 years and not his or her spouse, provided that no conviction shall be had for this offense on the unsupported testimony of the victim.

“(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, a person convicted of the offense of statutory rape shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years; provided, however, that if the person so convicted is 21 years of age or older, such person shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than ten nor more than 20 years. Any person convicted under this subsection of the offense of statutory rape shall, in addition, be subject to the sentencing and punishment provisions of Code Section 17-10-6.2.

“(c) If the victim is at least 14 but less than 16 years of age and the person convicted of statutory rape is 18 years of age or younger and is no more than four years older than the victim, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”

To answer your question specifically, anyone can ask the police or district attorney to “charge” someone with any crime. Subsection (a) of the statute says, however, that prosecution for statutory rape would require some proof beyond just the girl’s testimony that they had intimate relations. (From your post it is not even clear if the girl’s testimony would support the charge.) This is commonly referred to as “corroboration.” This does not necessarily mean that there has to be an eyewitness. There are various ways in which corroboration can be established. DNA and semen testing on clothing is one. An admission by your son to a friend could be another. I am not suggesting that any of that evidence exists. I am just citing hypothetical examples.

If your son were charged, subsection (c) of the statute states that he would only be charged with a misdemeanor because of their respective ages. Still a serious matter, but nothing at all like a felony charge.

The girl’s father has the right to restrict her company to persons he approves of, regardless of whether his reasons are justified in fact, or based on reasonable suspicion, or completely imaginary. Make sure your son understands that he needs to stay away from her. Even if a statutory rape charge were not filed, if he persists in associating with her other legal problems for him, and you, could develop. Of course, the possibility of a violent confrontation would be present if the girl’s father found them in each other’s company. No doubt this will be emotionally upsetting for your son. He may want to defy the ban, openly or secretly. Stories of young people defying their parents’ commands that they not associate together bo back thousands of years. However, in my view you need to take a very hard headed view of this. Be firm with your son to protect him, even if you have to discipline him in some way if you find out he is still seeing her. Generally, I am not one who advocates harsh parenting, but in this specific context, I do. The cost and other long term consequences of having to deal with a statutory rape charge make it far too risky to continue the relationship.

Also, I would suggest that your son not to discuss his relationship with the girl with anyone other than you and an attorney he might consult with. If his friends ask why they broke up, the best response is that he doesn't want to talk about it.

The only thing I would add is not legal in nature but practical and personal.

I understand the "but we love each other" mentality. In my life it came in college. My parents wanted me to stop seeing the man that later became my husband of twenty years until his death two years ago in a car accident. I knew my husband and I were "to be together". However, I also knew that living under my fathers roof and under his direction---even though I was an adult "over eighteen", it would behoove me to follow their wishes and I did. I called my boyfriend at the time and told him that out of respect for my parents, I could not see him any more. He was hurt, but he respected me enough to respect them. We went our separate ways and did not see, speak with, etc. one another. Four years later when I was graduating from college, our paths crossed and in a few weeks we were engaged. Twenty years and seven children later, I can honestly say that deference to my parents and respect for them has stood me in the best stead my whole life-----even though at times, I did not understand it. At our wedding ceremony, which my father performed, he said to the audience of my husband, "It has been said that a man who knows how to order himself under authority is a man OF authority. This is a man of authority and he has my respect".

I said all of that to say your son can learn something very important about authority and respect. Any young man , or young woman, for that matter, that places himself or herself between the object of their affection and the parents in question always, without exception. does so to both his and her peril. Making her choose between her obligation as a 15 year old little girl who lives with her parents, and a boy she has the 'hot and bothereds ' for is never a good choice. It never ever ends well.

The puppy love relationships of children this age are secondary to and should never conflict with what should be their primary goal, focus, and purpose at this stage in their life-----preparing themselves, emotionally, educationally, socially, physically and even spiritually for the rest of their life. Too many a life has been cut tragically short by children of this age making decisions that take away their choices at a later date (teen pregnancy, disease, addiction, etc).

Putting himself between this young lady and her parents will not win her heart. It could, in fact, in the long run destroy both of them in ways he cannot, at this age, begin to understand.