Quote:
Originally Posted by danielf
It seems more likely to me that the line between acceptable and unacceptable is actually blurred and shaky and no amount of crying "it's the law, and it's there for a reason" is going to change that.
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You're right, in the sense that physical and emotional maturity differs from person to person and therefore what's manageable for one is not necessarily so for another. Laws that bar or permit activities by age are set with the aim of providing general protection but they are not effective if they are routinely undermined.
If they are routinely undermined, then you get people who think that copping off with a 14-year-old isn't all that serious - even if they don't do it themselves, they may fail to treat it as seriously as they should if they see it happening. Which is precisely what Mr Rippon is now alleged to have done.