there is no debate then, im not making excuses for him...no where have i done that, For me though she isnt the same as a 7 year old, as an example, getting raped. i can understand alot of people being emotionally swayed due to having daughters themselves. however for me she is not the same as a young child. If this happened on her 16th birthday, everyone would be saying Adams is entitled to it,and she is mature enough now to make her choice, if it happened a day before, then she is naive, innocent etc etc.
Sorry if I sounded like I was accusing you of making excuses for him...I genuinely wasn't. When I worked in a childrens' home in the early 1990s I worked with a 14 or 15 yr old girl. She was really messed up due having a **** life. She would regularly abscond from our care, dressed in skimpy clothes and return days later reeking of sex. Men used her and justified it by saying she came on to them, that she looked older etc. but if you spoke to her for a minute or so you could not mistake her for being anything other than a child. I was 23 or 24 yrs old and it wasas plain as day that she was a child being used and abused by adults. A few years later I found out she died of a drugs over dose in a strangers flat aged around 19 or 20. Young teenagers have plenty of reasons for behaving inappropriate. .. if my daughters behaved like the girl in the Johnson case I would have failed them...the kids who behave like that do so because of a wide range of reasons which are beyond their control and understanding. If Johnson had sex with a 16 yr old I would consider him a sleazy **** bag but that ain't illegal and is just my morality and I do not expect anyone to abide by my morals.
Not really mate. If you're putting the legal argument to one side (which we all agree on) most ppl would think a 28 yr old building up a clandestine relationship with a girl who's just turned 16, is still pretty lowlife. If you're putting the legal argument to one side, then this becomes a moral argument, and ppl would still use the same argument, that morally a girl that young is naive, doesn't have the mental capacity or life experiences to make the right choices. It doesn't matter if she donned herself up for a night out, made herself look older or even flirted for the attention of an older man. THAT is what young girls often do, but that doesn't mean it's ok for a 28 year old man to take advantage. He's the adult.
Females, or at least most of them, learn fairly early how to use their sexuality to lure males. Having said this, Johnson is still a complete twat for using that and manipulating the girl into actual sexual contact.
yeah he may be a low life..but she does not get my sympathy like a actual young kid would. every case is different RCL. If this girl has these kind of issues then fine, she has been exploited. However if she was (the girl in the Adams case) loving it, bragging about flirting with a footballer etc etc. Then for me she has played a role. what is her excuse for absorbing the attention from an adult? is she deprived? many young girls dont go down that route. so id be interested in a character profile of this girl. Like yourself, my moral compass overides what the law says. we respect the law, however we have our own moral fibre too.
sorry Trebs, if she is donned up for a night out, made herself look older and even flirted for attention from older men, as you put it, then she best not complain when she gets exploited. first rule of respect, respect yourself. that girl you described gets no sympathy from me. That is the problem, too many excuses...and ill show you a world of 15 year olds that are not like that.
And ALL 15 years should know this? At 15 or even 16 years of age? You don't think they might not have the intelligence, experience or maturity to know this?
no im not saying all, that is why every case is unique. However would you be outraged if it happened on her 16th birthday? the law would not. Adams would not be in trouble and this thread would not be in existence.
Yeh but you can't have it both ways mate. If the law is what we're going to debate then there's no argument. But I've already said, lets put the law to one side. And if we're talking morally, then yeh I would have the same opinion even if it was on her 16th birthday, I said as much earlier and gave my reasons why. I work with 15/16 year olds mate and I know often they need to be saved from themselves. Not literally, but in the sense that they lack the experience to know their actions have adverse consequences sometimes. In case you missed my question earlier, I asked.... what if she was 13 and loving the attention and bragging about the flirting to her mates?
Personally yes...hand on heart I can honestly say that I think a 27 or 28 yrold man who has sex with a 16 yr old is a sleazy scum bag...but think that is my personal morals. For me, the most disturbing thing is that he knew she was 15...that goes way beyond being sleazy imo...he actively chose to have sex with someone below the age of consent... (making her a child in the eyes of the law)...even though he knew it was illegal. Imho society should be protected from people like him so he should be jailed. Only one type of person choses to have sex with a girl they know is under the age of consent and I would prefer them not to be walking around to reoffend
I agree wth RCL on this. Even if she was 16, which she wasn't, then the weight of moral responsibility lies with the adult here to act responsibly. A man of nearly 30 years old shouldn't be taking advantage of a 16 year old (or in this case a 15 year old). Yes some girls do look older and yes some of them actively court sexual attention, but ultimately they are still children and it is up to the adult to act like and adult and not take advantage of them.
Im not saying he is not guilty. not once have i said that. However i can understand how people feel about this and will leave it at that.
I think you need to add "knowing they are 15" in there. Someone going to a nightclub and having a one night stand to later find out the girl (or boy) is only 15 isn't the same.
Indeed. That's what it hinges on IMO. If he knew her age, regardless of how mature or sexually active she was, he should go down. If not, he shouldn't. We shall see.
