Two cases involving sex with 11-year-olds forced France to raise the age of consent - The Washington Post
peter.suber's bookmarks 2018-03-07
Summary:
"France announced plans Monday to set 15 as the age of sexual consent amid public outrage over two cases involving sex with 11-year-old girls.
Until now, sex with children under 15 could be prosecuted as a sexual offense, but rape charges could be difficult to prove in such cases because French law required evidence that the sex was forced....
A French court acquitted a 30-year-old man of rape in November, concluding that the 11-year-old girl had not experienced “constraint, threat, violence or surprise” during the sex act, which is how France had previously defined rape....
In a similar case, a 28-year-old man was charged with sex with a minor, because it was concluded that the victim was not physically forced to have sex. That girl also was 11. In the second case, the trial court asked that a new trial be held in a higher court, setting off the public debate...."