HARD COPY:
A newly published study in Behavioral Sciences and the Law documents statistically significant discrimination in judicial sentencing for U.S. men who become involved in relationships with teen boys, as opposed to girls of the same age. Out of a large sample of men incarcerated for contact or enticement offenses involving minors, those who had a relationship with boys aged 14-17 received a median minimum sentence of 30 years, as opposed to 15 years for relations with girls, even though research shows that teen boys, especially those who are gay or bi-curious, are much more likely to consent to these relations and regard them as positive experiences. These would not even be crimes in many European and Asian countries. What causes us to consider American adolescents so much less capable of sexual decision-making than their peers in Germany or South Korea?