CWA's Barber highlights downside of criminalizing teen sex

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CWA's Barber highlights downside of criminalizing teen sex

USA Today reports several states are relaxing laws that punish teens who have consensual sex with underage partners -- and one pro-family activist is concerned that the trend is unintentionally giving ammunition to opponents of mandatory prison sentences for adult sex offenders.

The newspaper says governors in seven states have signed bills in the past two months that mean no prosecution for some teens or no requirement to register as a sex offender. For example, the state of Indiana decriminalized consensual sex among teenagers in a dating relationship if they are within four years' age difference.

Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues at Concerned Women for America, acknowledges that criminalizing teen sex is a "touchy" issue.

"Although statutory rape by any definition needs to be illegal [and] needs to be against the law, I can see where there is a need, in some instances -- specifically with regard to consensual teen sex -- where they may need to be looked at on a case-by-case basis to determine what an appropriate sentence is," says Barber.

Barber says although consensual teen sex should in no way be condoned, it does not warrant the same punishment a pedophile would receive. He says the danger in punishing consensual teen sex in the same manner -- such as registering as a sex offender or serving mandatory extended sentences in prison -- is that it "gives fodder to those persons who oppose Jessica's Law."

"They're portrayed as hard cases and [are] saying we should throw out the baby with the bath water," she says.

Jessica's Law requires that child predators be sent to prison with mandatory minimum sentences of 15-25 years to life.