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47 New Eng. L. Rev. 681 (2012-2013)
All the Kids Are Doing It: The Unconstitutionally of Enforcing Statutory Rape Laws against Children & Teenagers

handle is hein.journals/newlr47 and id is 715 raw text is: All the Kids Are Doing It: The Unconstitutionality of Enforcing Statutory Rape Laws Against Children & Teenagers DANIELLE FLYNN* ABSTRACT Today, nearly 50% of high school students admit to having sex by the age of sixteen. According to one study, the number of instances of statutory rape involving an adolescent offender exceeds seven million per year. Because teenage sexuality is so commonplace in the United States, it has become a societal norm, and to prevent unfair prosecution, most states have created age-gap provisions to absolve minors of criminal liability. However, some states, including Massachusetts, have neglected to implement any protection against unjust punishment for children and teenagers, ignoring the evolving standards of decency within modern American society. This Note will argue that in all situations where juveniles who are close in age or both under the age of consent engage in consensual sex, there is no real culpability and there are no penological justifications for conviction and punishment, so any form of punishment would be cruel and unusual under the Eighth Amendment. In addition, this Note will argue that age-gap provisions are necessary to comport with the United States' evolving standards of decency. Punishing teenagers and children for engaging in sexual relations with their peers serves no purpose in actuality other than to destroy the lives of those who are chosen, often invidiously, to be prosecuted. As such, states that continue to criminalize such behavior must enact age-gap provisions in order to adhere to constitutional requirements. * Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, New England Law I Boston (2013). B.A., Political Science, Manhattanville College (2010). I would like to thank my family and friends for being my sounding boards throughout the writing process. I would also like to thank James Corbo, Esq., Laura Alfring, Esq., and Melanie Roberts, Esq. for all of their support and advice. 681