How would the assailant know until after he did it? If she happens to be wearing underwear, that’s just a luck of the draw for him. It doesn’t really alter the act. Why should penalties be dependent on variables the offenders have no knowledge or control of?
Already asked and answered on my part. The answer is yes.
Why don’t you go tear the bathing suit off a little girl at the beach and see what you get charged with.
Why don’t you just admit you don’t have a cite? These shitty little games that I asked you to eschew are not bolstering your position.
Would you be willing to assert that feeling the rear ends of young men is indisputably and always an act of sexual assault?
Except that they aren’t, that’s why you have degrees. First degree assault and fourth degree assault aren’t the same thing (in Minnesota, 4th degree assault is a gross misdominer, 1st-3rd are felonies).
But yeah, shouting “look at Janie’s boobs” could be construed as verbal sexual assault. Probably wouldn’t get prosecuted, but it probably IS against the law to do so in many jurisdictions.
Going two miles over the speed limit is speeding. Going fifty miles over the speed limit is speeding. One of these is unlikely to get you a ticket - but if the cop pulls you over you HAVE broken the law.
I’m not steadfastly refusing to do anything. I never promised a better legal system, so please take down that particular strawman.
What I’m suggesting is that we temper our judgement with a little common sense. And while we’re at it, let’s keep alarmist appeals to emotion out of it.
I don’t think that that’s too much to ask.
I’m not asserting anything. I’m saying let’s get real here and discuss the situation as we know it rather than bringing up extreme hypotheticals.
Your argument of “What if this happened to your [relative]” is nothing but an appeal to emotion, as is “A fully grown adult sexually assaulted a minor!”
We’re talking about a high school kid pulling a prank on another high school kid. A stupid and thoughtless prank, I agree, but it’s hardly a case of a pedophile predator claiming yet another innocent life.
Without their consent? Yes. So is ripping the clothes off of unwilling children.
I would think that it’s an entirely different situation, just as I would also think it’s entirely different if he did this 2 years from now to another guy at his college fraternity. Why? Because context matters.
You want to play what if? How’s about instead of pantsing this girl, he hugged her. I’d bet if he did THAT to a random little girl in the mall, the girl’s parents would be kind of pissed off.
Feel free to consider it a strawman.
I, OTOH, will consider criticisms such as your to be of little merit unless you propose a workable alternative.
You walk into a bar on your 21st birthday and order a beer. Do you want the bartender to determine whether or not he considers you sufficiently mature to be served?
This all reminds me of the case from a few months back where a 14 year old boy took a semi-nude picture of his 13 year old girlfriend then passed it around to his friends. Alarmed parents asked for the heads of these monsters who were doing major harm to the THE CHILDRUUUUN!
I don’t know if it would be formally charged with sexual assault or not, but I’m reasonably sure it could be. It certainly would be some kind of assault, so it doesn’t really matter what statute it falls under. Illegal is illegal. It’s a criminal assault on a minor, and it’s ridiculous to try to argue that tearing a teenage girls clothes off is not sexual in nature. If your only point is to try to assert that it would be formally charged as some kind of physical battery rather than sexual assault, trhen you’re arguing an irrelevant distinction. It’s still a crime.
What do you think would happen if you ripped a girl’s pants down at the mall? Why won’t any of the people defending this dude answer that question?
Thanks. I will.
And you continue to erect it. Please take note that I’m not responding to it.
So you think it’s no big deal to take naked pictures of little girls and pass them around to other children? You think that does no harm to the victim?
Because it’s a dumb question that doesn’t merit a response.
But since you are so insistant on asking it, I’ll take the bait and answer. No, I don’t think it’s OK to rip a minor girl’s clothes at the mall. And before you ask, amusement parks are right out too, as are airports.
Stop putting words in my mouth. Yes, it’s wrong.
What I found ridiculous was that many people wanted the boys to be tried as adults, because they were victimizing an innocent child.
What would happen if you pulled this “prank” at the mall? I honestly want to know why you think it’s different than doing it at a school.
Also, are you asserting that 18 year olds should not be held legally accountable for their actions?
They were. I wouldn’t say they should be tried as adults, but they were, in fact, victimizing another child.
What you are “reasonably sure” something “could be” is not the same as “indisputable.”
So why are the rules different in a high school? Can you cite a statutory distinction?