Officer Handcuffs Teen for Having Sex with His Daughter
There is a nice little country song by a guy named Rodney Atkins, that talks about the kinds of things a father would like to say to the boy dating his teenage daughter. The hook: "I'll see you when you get back / Bet I'll be up all night / Still cleanin' this gun." Just a song? Maybe not. In San Jose, Ca, a motorcycle cop is under investigation for slapping the handcuffs on a teen for sex with his daughter.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, the story is stirring debate about how far a father should go to protect his daughter. Healthy intimidation, yes. Fake arrest by an armed and uniformed cop, not so much. The secret cell phone footage shot by the boy's stepfather shows the cop in question telling the boy, "not a good thing that the person you had sex with is a cop's daughter" and that "the district attorney will probably file charges. ... A cop's daughter is not somebody you mess around with. You're stupid." Well, perhaps the part about the DA was not quite the whole truth.
The officer is under investigation and may suffer disciplinary action. The Mercury reports Tony Boskovich, an attorney representing the boy's family, said, "What right does he have to use his uniform, his gun, his handcuffs if all he is is a dad?" On the other side of the story is the position taken by the officer's attorney. Terry Bowman, the lawyer representing the officer said, "Most people can understand how this father felt and why he did what he did. It is a shame if the young man's parents lose sight of the importance of the message because they have chosen to focus on what the girl's father was wearing."
Please don't assume that the girl in the equation got off without a scared straight special of her own. Her stepdad reportedly took her on a little drive in the direction of the local juvenile detention facility. Please note that the kids in this tale of woe are 15 and 14, respectively.
The officious officer has made a correct statement about the legality, if not the morality, of such young teens having sex. The Mercury reports our star-crossed lovers were criminally cited by police for having underage sex. In some states, when the offenders are close in age, the applicable law is not one of statutory rape, but often falls under what are sometimes called "Romeo and Juliet laws," which make sex between the participants a more minor offence.
The result of the all the hoopla, like most things, will be both positive and negative. The negative: the officer may have well have disciplinary time coming. According to The Mercury, they have discovered a policy that states officers "will avoid becoming officially involved in quarrels or disputes occurring in their own neighborhoods, unless the incident involves an immediate threat to human life."
The positive? When asked if he had any thoughts about teenage sex, our underage Romeo said, "I wouldn't recommend it."
Pass the gun polish.
Related Resources:
- Cop handcuffs teen over sex with daughter (MSNBC)
- In a Title VII Case, Can a Teenage Employee Consent to Sex With Her Supervisor? (FindLaw's Writ)
- Statutory Rape (FindLaw's LawBrain)