Every rape, be it by strangers, step-fathers, fathers, brothers, clergy, teachers. coaches. etc. should be punished by significant prison time and lifetime sex offender registry. No excuses. No "you are just so beautiful, I couldn't stop myself". No excuses for spousal rape. The figures for the large percentage of women who have been assaulted are sickening. It makes me wonder if all men should be tested psychologically to see if they need temporary chemical castration until they can pass the test.
People do horrible things to other people, and that's not limited to men doing bad stuff to women. The perp is almost always male, and the victim is usually female, but all the other combinations do occur. We tend to lump every sexual encounter involving somebody under 18 (or 17 or 16, depending on your state) as heinous child molestation deserving hanging, flaying, or other such extreme punishment. But such interactions are all unique, and need to be considered on an individual basis. I know that's icky, and most people would just throw up their hands and say: "Hang the bastard." But we should not be prosecuting 17 year olds for production of child pornography for taking photos of themselves, and we should not be prosecuting 18 year olds for having a sexual relationship with their 17 year old girlfriend.
Regarding the situation in France, the solution is straightforward: Cancel the Statute of Limitations for sexual offences against minors, and concealing such crimes. Prosecute all offenders. Send them to prison. Compensate all the victims. Sounds like this will bankrupt the Catholic Church in France. So be it. But I doubt it's limited to the Catholic Church. But they need to look at every case individually, and dole out punishment and rewards appropriately. Buggered 50 ten year old alter boys? Life in prison and fines of everything you've got. The boys get all their medical, therapy, and education bills paid, plus pain and suffering. Fell prey to seduction by a sexually active late teen when you are a newly-minted seminary graduate? Community service and the supposed-victim gets nothing.
And I say this also based on personal experiences: My father got two years in medium-security prison for hundreds of sex acts with his own daughter. My niece's husband got 300 years for reaching into his male student's pants.
Last edited by pondering_it_all; 10/13/21 11:52 PM.
