Definitely a dumb decision on the 19 year old's part. Definitely not something that should've came with the draconian consequences it did though.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

In hindsight it was a bad idea. I believe a few people her probably had sex with someone they just met as a teen. They didn't ask for their birth certificate or try to find some classy place. They used a car or went somewhere they didn't see anyone. Laws like these punish the wrong people.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Yeah the Registered Sex Offender thing is definitely overkill and will literally ruin his life. He was a 19yo who had sex with a 14yo, that's not a slap on the wrist crime though.

Context matters, imo. If the girls mom is defending the boy, that should speak volumes. It sounds like it literally came down to him not checking her ID. Hard to make a case to criminalize that mistake I think.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Its not like even that matters, if he meets her in a bar and she got in with a fake ID he still gets convicted.