Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Legal Consequences of Teen Sexuality

The following question was posted here:
http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/can-a-16-year-old-consent-to-sex-in-ma-to-a-29-yea-233319.html

Paraphrasing the question:
I am 16 and see a personal counselor. I told her I am in a relationship with a 29 year old man. She checked with her advisers and DCF to see if it was legal or not and said yes it is legal -- there's nothing anyone can do about it. Then a couple of months after that my counselor brought my mom in with us during a session to work on my relationship with her. My mom brought up her concerns of me possibly being with this man. I have always said to her I wasn't with him and he has told her the same. The next day tells me that it's illegal and she needs to tell the authorities. So, is it legal or not?
My answers:
The age of consent for sexual relations in Massachusetts is 16. I'll post more in a few minutes after searching to give you some citations.

Call me at 781-641-3472 if you would like a free, brief initial consultation about your rights.
The Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries have put together a great set of links on a page called "Massachusetts Law About Sex."
I suppose it could be argued that it might be "abuse" under DCF (formerly DSS)'s definition if the counselor had "reasonable cause to believe" that your relationship with this man "causes, or creates a substantial risk of physical or emotional injury," or if the man can be defined as a "caretaker" in relationship to you because "any sexual contact between a caretaker and a child under the care of that individual" also constitutes "abuse." I'll link the definition page below as well as the statutory link about what a counselor is "mandated" to "report."
On the other hand, a child in DCF custody is allowed to consent to her own "family planning services" which can include contraception. See §11.05 of the Medical Authorizations regulation linked below.
If the counselor is required to report under §51A, linked below, your right to privacy of your conversations with her is essentially voided. If she is wrong about her insistence on reporting and ignores your reasonable requests that she keep your confidences, you may have a claim against her.
DCF's Glossary regulation
Mandated reporting Law
DCF's Medical authorizations regulation

4 comments:

MLR said...

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/teen-girl-faces-felony-charge-over-lesbian-relationship-mom-blames-religious?akid=10460.39730.qXEh4k&rd=1&src=newsletter843018&t=11

MLR said...

For another area of concern see Attorney Keren Goldenberg's blog post "TEENAGE SEXTING: WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE (AND THEIR PARENTS) NEED TO KNOW" Apr 06, 2019 here: https://kgdefenselaw.com/2019/04/06/teenage-sexting/

MLR said...

Boston Globe LETTERS Aug. 7, 2019
"Alan Dershowitz wants his ’97 op-ed seen in context
"In his article about an op-ed I wrote 22 years ago regarding lowering the age of consent, Martin Finucane quotes critics who say my ideas are “off the deep end” (“Alan Dershowitz defends op-ed suggesting that age of consent for sex should be lowered,” BostonGlobe.com, July 30). Finucane never asked me to respond. Had he called me, I would have explained the background and context of my op-ed."
See more here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/letters/2019/08/06/dershowitz-wants-his-seen-context/cRAmkFWfAoboQYJa6fjozM/story.html?et_rid=819541024&s_campaign=todaysheadlines:newsletter

MLR said...

See also this 4-year-old article that turned up in my Facebook memories today: https://www.freerangekids.com/turning-church-volunteering-into-a-crime-for-shame-indiana/
It is the story of a 19-year-old who was sentenced to the sex offender registry for having intercourse with a 14-year-old girl who told him she was 17. Lack of knowledge of the younger person's age, at his age, was a defense in his home state, but not where the sex occurred.
The article goes on to discuss how he was denied lenient treatment because, a few days before his 2 years of probation was supposed to end, he was in his home while his brother's friend, who was less than 19, was there and he volunteered at a church that just hired a 17-year-old intern, whom he hadn't even met.