NEWS: "Child Molester" Appeals Conviction

CULTURE: "Child Molester" Appeals Conviction

Statutory rape is, and forever will be, a sticky subject. Cut-and-dry legal age limits for consensual sex make sense, and undoubtedly work to protect our children from those who would try to take advantage. But when the offender is also underage, close-in-age, or the specific sex-act falls into an ever-nebulous gray area, the lines of legality and morality can get awfully blurry.

Examine the case of Genarlow Wilson: a 17-year-old caught on videotape getting a consensual but very-illegal blowjob from a 15-year-old girl. In Georgia, the age of consent is 16, a fact that landed Mr. Wilson in a statutory-heap of trouble. Under a questionable Georgia state law, he was found guilty of aggravated child molestation and sentenced to 10 years in prison. His story has been around for awhile, but in the time since Wilson’s conviction the law that put him in prison has been changed, mainly due to its overzealous application on this particular case. The Associated Press reports:

After serving 27 months of a 10 year sentence for a crime that would no longer be deemed a felony, Wilson is waiting for the results of his appeal which should be handed down sometime this week. What makes his case difficult to defend are the surrounding circumstances: also appearing on Wilson’s damning video was a scene of several boys, Wilson included, having sex with a 17-year-old girl in a motel room, while the 15-year-old girl took turns orally servicing Wilson and another boy (who was himself underage). Whether or not you factor in the race card -- Wilson is black -- the peripheral details of the case are certain to rub some people the wrong way.

No, Mr. Johnson, blowjobs don't necessarily involve love, but neither does the law. In a complex and multi-layered case such as this, it will be interesting to see what the courts make of non-retroactive rulings, legal gray areas,"time served," the intangible definition of what constitutes actual sex, and the oft-forgotten importance of keeping it in your pants.

See, this is sad. This helps no one. It doesn't help children who are molested, it doesn't help society. You know what happens to a person who goes to prison for ten years, especially for a crime they didn't really commit? I mean, it costs a lot of money to hold them for that long, and then you surround them with violent criminals for some of the most important years of their development as an adult.

Plus, after that you pretty much can't live anywhere, because you are a sexual-felon. Everytime you try to move into a neighborhood, everyone has to agree to let you in. And good luck getting a job.

Sad.

I love how this case was actually at the focal point of why the law was changed, but they will not apply this new law to the person who justified this new law.

Wait what the fuck?

I remember the first time I heard about this case, thinking how fucked up it is... especially having dated a 15 year old sophomore my senior year of high school. Then I saw the real details: black boy, white girl, deep South and knew exactly why they threw the book at him. Pretty much as legally close to a lynching as they could get. If this had been a white boy and a black girl, probably would have been buried.

Even if the kids gets out, his life is forever ruined - sports scholarships to college gone, forever having the "sex offender" tag following him, etc.

laws are laws

lols

thats ruff

i'm terribly sorry, but does anyone find it a least a little bit giggly (however immature) that the lawyer's name is B.J.?

on a more serious note, i agree with those of the opinion that some stat rape laws are "sticky". i myself was involved with a younger lad about a year ago. we snuck out one night, got it on in a park, and got caught by the police. i had turned 18 a week earlier, he was 16, due to turn 17 in september. he lives in missouri, and the park we went to was in kansas (we live in kansas city, his house is literally less than 5 minutes from the state line). upon checking IDs for ages and addresses, the police discovered that he was a minor living in missouri. because i, a non-minor, transported him across state lines unbeknownst to his parents, i was arrested... for kidnapping. what. the. fuck.

his parents never pressed charges because obviously, being his girlfriend for nearly a year, i was clearly not kidnapping anyone. but man, were they angry that they had to come pick him up at 4 in the morning.

Oh come ON, how did I not see that? That's classic!

Oh, I'm so glad someone else saw that.

I was kind of looking for distractions from the fact that I was fuming with rage, anyway.

So we should just accept all laws at face value and that is that. I mean, why would we challenge or try to change a law that is stupid. Just accept the law, no matter how outdated, wrong or fucked it is.
Bow down and don't question authority. Civil disobedience is still disobedience, right?
A 17 year old getting a blow job from a 15 year old consensually should put him in jail for 10 years and probably ruin his life. Laws are laws.
That makes a ton of sense to me now.

I blame rap music...

/sarcasm

Laws are laws, right?

So

* In Marietta, Georgia it is illegal to spit from a moving car or bus, but is okay from a moving truck.

I mean what's not sensible about that law? It's a law and has to be obeyed. Damn straight.

It definitely must suck to be him. I doubt it's just the race factor; there's also the fact that he saves videotape of himself getting head from not just one, but TWO 15 year old girls, one of which was blowing another guy too while the guys were boinking a 17 year old girl at the same time. Unlike you, he would have definite trouble arguing that they were "dating."

For a 2-year age difference it does seem excessivbe, but whn Wilson not only did it with more than one 15 year old, AND videotaped it (child porn ring a bell?) he threw any hope of gaining compassion for the poor boy who was just dating right out the window. He videotaped (or possessed a videotape of) an orgy involving him and multiple guys and girls including jailbait. Even though it wasn't the same 15 year old, it still destroyed any credibilty he migh have had claoming to be dating.

And yes, he will be definitely scarred for life. I'm glad when I was 17 I was boinking girls my age or older. Seemed like yonger girls were jailbait and why risk it when there are many more my age or older?

So, folks, don't videotape orgies involving minors. He really is lucky they didn't get him on making child porn on top of it.

If we feel a law is unfair we should try to change it, not make child porn out of it. And certainly not repeatedly. And then to let the tape get out!? Not smart!

But they're still open to interpretation. Hence our entire judicial system. The entire argument is going to be on legislative intent. And both sides have good arguments to that.

Anyway, statutory rape laws need age windows. 15 yr old and an 18 yr old is fine, 17 yr old and a 21 yr fine, but there still needs to be a floor. Probably shouldn't be 16 and 12.

Wilson needs to come out of prison and start shooting some people. I know I would. He's already done the time, he might as well do the crime.

this seventeen year old boy should not be punishedbutupon looked upon as a role model to other teenage boys & curious girls

"also appearing on Wilson's damning video was a scene of several boys, Wilson included, having sex with a 17-year-old girl in a motel room, while another 15-year-old girl took turns orally servicing Wilson and another boy (who was himself underage)."

bravo!

I understand the purpose of preventing ex post facto laws from hurting people, but from helping them especially when the laws are a bit on the extreme side? I'm at a loss. I hope this guy gets some relief...

Yeah hopefully he does get some relief after his release.

But I think so long as he relies on 'ol B.J. he'll have a happy ending.

I think he's got a shot at appeals. Someone wil very likely take pity on him. While promiscuous orgiastic sex with underage girls on videotape taken at parties where drugs and alcohol coexist with minors doesn't look good in court, there's nothing in the article indicating that she was coerced or in any way opposed blowing older guys, so if SOMEONE finds compassion in appellate court he's got a good shot. It IS truly a long time for that.

So basically a senior got 10 years for getting a blowjob from a sophomore.
Yeah that NEVER happens and certainly deserves to be a felony..even after it isn't.

Just to be clear. My comment was operating under the assumption that this was entirely consensual sexual acts between kids who were just a couple years apart.

It was. That's my point, that despite his taping it as well as having other sexcapades on the same tape, he still has a good shot at an appeal if anyone sees past that. The fact is, the act for which he was convicted was getting blown by a girl two years his junior. Complications may include race issues and/or the orgiastic cointent of the REST of the tape, which while a lawyer should have and may have gotten erased from the record,would still be in the minds of jurors. The words "Jurors, disregard that" have limited power. Seemingly superfluous facts often fuck things up.

I don't mean to be a pessimist, but as the article insinuated I think "complications may include race" has a big part to play unfortunately... If someone can prove me wrong, I'd me more than happy to be proven otherwise...

As I said, I think race did have a lot to do with it, but even if he had been white a lot of people would not have been able to get around the fact that he had it and other stuff on video. I asked my 81 year old mother about the case and she is one of many misguided folks who find sex with multple partners and even just sex outside marriage and any sex on videotape especially at drug and alcohol parties with underage girls to be totally evil and can't accept the possibilty that he and his friends might not be seducing or tricking young girls into these videotaped sex sessions. Right or wrong, that's how she, and sadly, many many others feel. She wouldn't care that he';s black, just that he has videotaped sex acts with multiple men and women involved and for that reason the initial blowjob takes a back seat to his general character in her world.

So, if she had been a juror (and fortunately she opted out of jury duty last year with a medical pass) she would have placed an unwavering guilty plea regardless of race, and so, based on my understanding of my patients, would many others.

The fact that he was black and she was white just makes it worse, 'use now you have other jurors who might not care about orgiastic videos and underage girls at drug and alcohol parties who might be down on him just for being black. Of course, although I'm in The South, I'm not there, and the mindset is different here. I don't know anyone persnally here that I'd think would put someone away based on race, but I know in some places they would. Here it's all about "depravity" - that'll get you put away here.

The world sucks sometimes.

But I still think he has a good shot at appeals.