https://jezebel.com/french-lawyers-for-man-accused-of-sexual-abuse-say-11-y-1822993774
A trial in France is reignited a debate over the fact that the country does not have a legal age of consent.
On February 13, a 29-year-old French man went on trial in the suburb of Pontoise for sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl. The Associated Press reports that defense lawyers say that the man and the girl met in a park before she followed him to an apartment where they had sexual intercourse.
The girl’s family filed a complaint of rape in the town Montmagny but prosecutors didn’t believe the suspect used violence or coercion, which are integral to the French definition of rape. Rape in France is defined as “any act of sexual penetration, whatever its nature, committed against another person by violence, constraint, threat or surprise.” Instead the man was charged for “sexual abuse of a minor under 15” rather than rape.
And in a particularly horrifying move, the defense lawyers for the man argue that the girl consented to sex and was fully aware of her actions, with one lawyer Sandrine Parise-Heideiger saying “We are not dealing with a sexual predator on a poor little faultless goose.” The lawyers also say their client thought the girl was “at least 16.”
While the age of consent varies for different countries, it is universally accepted that anyone under the 16 whether or not they consent to the sexual act is considered a minor and that anyone who engages in sexual activity has committed statutory rape. They are still punished for the act with up three years in jail in some countries and labeled as sex offenders. For instance, in the state of Ohio and in many states in the United States (and countries for that matter) have age of consent laws. Depending on the age of the perpetrator, the result can vary from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony. You can read more by visiting this site https://www.keatingfirmlaw.com/post/legal-age-of-consent.