Monday, August 16, 2004

Wow, that many?

Sometimes when reading Clayton Cramer’s blog, I get the impression that only gay men are interested in having sex with the underaged. But in reading it today, we learn, via this article, that, apparently, heterosexual men have got this problem quite bad.

It is difficult to know how widespread the crime of statutory rape is across the country, particularly among girls who willingly engage in sex with older men. Franklin said Virginia hospital records from 2001 show that in 70 percent of births to girls age 14 and 15, the father of the baby was at least three years older than the mother. That is a felony under Virginia law.

After a trial run of the program in Norfolk last year, officials conducted informal polling of men and found that 69 percent said they knew of someone having sex with a minor.

Grace Sparks, president of Planned Parenthood-Virginia, said studies show that the younger girls start having sex, the older their partners tend to be.

"If she starts at 11 or 12, her partner is more likely to be a decade or older," Sparks said. "It's pretty shocking."

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