# Is sexual harassment of a minor a criminal offense? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 9, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073 "2015-11-09T04:22:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073/21 "2015-11-10T01:16:33Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > How exactly do you know what your next-door neighbor’s daughter’s supervisor says about your next-door neighbor’s daughter to his male coworkers when your next-door neighbor’s daughter and the other girl aren’t present? > > Have you ever considered not being such a busybody? > [@Surreal](#): > > Where on earth are you getting all of this information about the place where your next-door neighbor’s daughter’s place of work? And why do you care? Neither of your posts are contributing in any way to the question being asked by the OP. I don’t know if your “busybody” accusation is based on some history between the two of you, but you need to let it go in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073/22 "2015-11-10T01:30:55Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Obligatory IANAL but the age of consent in California is 18. I’ve never heard of a minor being the subject of merely a ‘sexual harassment’ charge, their underage status seems to always make it a more serious charge like lewd conduct or performance with a minor etc. I suppose there’s no reason they couldn’t (nor wouldn’t) be charged with these _ **and** _ sexual harassment if it was in a workplace environment (and the minor was legally employed). Some jurisdictions (e.g. [Virginia](http://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter8/section18.2-370/)) have a crime called “Indecent Liberties” that can be committed verbally with a minor, but the charge seems to only apply to direct attempts to solicit the minor to perform certain specified sexual acts, not to sexual talk in general with children or even sexual taunting of children. If you taunt children sexually, that makes you a dick (but probably not a criminal). ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073/23 "2015-11-10T01:40:53Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > One of the girls is the daughter of my next-door neighbor. Since you aren’t the parent or a co-worker, I doubt there’s much you should be dealing with here. This should be something the parent should be dealing with. I would encourage your neighbor to to get an attorney that deals with sexual harassment issues. He/she might find one that takes the case on a contingency basis. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073/24 "2015-11-10T02:41:10Z")
> [@Carryon](#): > > In general, there is a concept of “No means no,” where once the party clearly communicates to the other to stop then at that point the action must stop. This is why you can get oddites, like courts have ruled, an employer can’t prevent you from discussing religion or proselytising others at work. A _private_ employer? Can you point me to one of those cases? > [@elfkin477](#): > > Is sexual harassment of anyone a crime? I mean, I know you can get fired, but are there legal penalties beyond that like jail time or even just fines? No. It doesn’t really matter whether the other party is a minor. There are vague crimes like “contributing to the delinquency of a minor” (which is much like the VA law **r\_c** mentions) but they generally require that the child be induced to commit an illegal act. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073/25 "2015-11-10T06:23:27Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Where on earth are you getting all of this information about the place where your next-door neighbor’s daughter’s place of work? And why do you care? I’m in regular e-mail contact with about a dozen current employees who work in four of the franchisee’s 24 outlets. I’ve known all of them since they were in preschool. As for why I care, that’s just how we roll in Simi Valley. When criminals (or even ex-criminals) cross the city line, they can effectively consider themselves to be under a microscope, especially if they’re engaging in activities which threaten public safety. They don’t call us “the land of the white, the free, and the armed” for nothing. This franchisee has recently branched out into contracts for providing school lunches. A recent order almost caused an anaphylactic reaction in a child. It was the store manager and a district manager who assembled and expedited the entire order. It was made abundantly clear to them that were allergy issues involved and that they had to exercise extreme diligence. Despite this, the offending ingredient made its way into the child’s sandwich. Fortunately, the child had the presence of mind to open the sandwich and inspect its contents, thereby averting a disaster. When her teacher personally came to the store to complain, she was completely ignored, and two subsequent orders were also incorrectly made. In one order, every single sandwich was made incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073/26 "2015-11-10T19:20:17Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I agree the girls need to get the hell out of there, as apparently the franchise owner is not taking actions on a LOT of issues. > > But in the meantime (or even after they leave): Has the franchise owner been notified of the complaints? If so, contact Subway corporate - even if they don’t directly “own” the store, it’s their reputation on the line. > > There may be some state labor laws being violated if the owner and manager are not taking appropriate action. > > Have the health authorities been told of the safety issues? > [@elfkin477](#): > > Is sexual harassment of anyone a crime? I mean, I know you can get fired, but are there legal penalties beyond that like jail time or even just fines? See my post. If you don’t get satisfaction from the employer, report it to the state - the link there is to the rules for the Fair Employment and Housing Commission Of course, I’m nowhere near California and I don’t know whether these rules are window dressing or something seriously enforced that will make an employer sit up and take note. You might also consider passing the information on to Subway. they may or may not have an interest in making their franchisee meet standards. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073/27 "2015-11-10T19:33:19Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Since you aren’t the parent or a co-worker, I doubt there’s much you should be dealing with here. This should be something the parent should be dealing with. I would encourage your neighbor to to get an attorney that deals with sexual harassment issues. He/she might find one that takes the case on a contingency basis. I disagree. Just because a parent isn’t interested in helping or protecting their minor children doesn’t give other adults a pass to ignore the situation. As human beings we should look out for each other and try to help one another regardless of whether it’s a relative or a close friend or total stranger. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073/28 "2015-11-10T19:57:24Z")
None of us knows the relationship between **Washoe** , the girls in question, and their parents. They could be close friends. The parents may have asked **Washoe** for advice. All we know is that **Washoe** asked for our opinions. I don’t see any reason to assume that it’s none of **Washoe’s** business, or that the girls’ parents aren’t interested in helping their children. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073/29 "2015-11-10T21:07:10Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Is sexual harassment of anyone a crime? I mean, I know you can get fired, but are there legal penalties beyond that like jail time or even just fines? It depends. Most states that I know of do not have a separate statute for sexual harassment and the civil precedents and regulations are more broad than criminal statutes. However, many acts can be under the umbrella of regular ol’ harassment. For harassment there just has to be communication likely to cause annoyance or alarm or alarming conduct with the purpose to annoy or alarm. Most of what is called sexual harassment meets the elements of the criminal statute of harassment. Some states many have statutes that more directly address the issue. Of course IANALBIAACBOINJ. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073/30 "2015-11-10T21:51:58Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Where on earth are you getting all of this information about the place where your next-door neighbor’s daughter’s place of work? And why do you care? This might be a long shot but I’ve heard of people who actually become friends with their neighbors. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073/31 "2015-11-11T03:43:43Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > This might be a long shot but I’ve heard of people who actually become friends with their neighbors. Weird. Very true—the neighbor is a close friend and has been for two decades. I would be pursuing this just as fervently even if I didn’t consider him a friend. Simi Valley is a tight and close-knit community. We go to Herculean lengths here to protect and safeguard the welfare of our citizens, and particularly those of our seniors and our youth. It’s a wonderful place to live and to raise a family in, and we intend to keep it that way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-harassment-of-a-minor-a-criminal-offense/737073.md?page=1)