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https://web.archive.org/web/20251114020446/https://www.thedailybeast.com/matt-gaetzs-teen-sex-allegations-take-horrific-new-twist/
Not defending him in the slightest, but could he have thought she was of legal age? In the article I didn't find a mention of how old he thought she was.
Legally it doesn't matter, statutory rape, among other sexual charges use strict liability.
Wait, from a purely logical and legal perspective, how does that work? The guy is disgusting and I'm not defending him, but speaking in general terms, if someone lies about their age, how is the other person liable? Presumably this service would have some age check and claim that all the people on their site were of legal age?
How about a scenario where person A meets person B who looks of age and person B shows them a (fake) government ID showing that they are of age? Is person A still legally liable?
Yikes, I searched and found my own answer. I see what you meant by strict liability - at least in California, it means the person over age is still liable even if the minor shows a fake ID. That's a scary scenario to think about for sure (not for me personally, just in general). Source: https://thenieveslawfirm.com/what-if-a-minor-lies-about-their-age-online/
If he were 19 and they were having sex for free this wouldn’t be a big deal. He’s paying and more than twice her age. Especially because he’s a high profile public figure, additional scrutiny should be applied, including background checks. The fact that he finds himself in bed with a 17 year old who needs to pay for braces just proves that the allegations of FSB/Mossad/Epstein kompromat are a credible. What would these idiots be willing to do to ensure their actions aren’t made public?
Oh, I totally agree. I was thinking in general terms, like a 25 year old having sex with someone who told them that they were 19, but actually being 17. I just didn't realize that the over age person would be liable even if the minor used a fake ID to pretend that they were of legal age.
Strict liability for possession crimes scares me the most, feel like it'd be easy to set someone up.
Is that like drugs? Are they strict liability as well? That definitely sounds scary.