Contributing to Delinquency of A Minor

[DavidEBernstein at aol.com]

Hmmm....  I went to a ("modern") Orthodox Jewish High School (Yeshiva  of 
Flatbush), and several of my female classmates, of Syrian Jewish origin  (there 
is a large Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn), got married junior or  senior 
year to older men, at least in their mid-20s, and had babies soon  thereafter. 
 Is there a principled way to distinguish this from the 16 year  old pregnant 
"married" women in the FLDS, assuming that the latter women indeed  wanted to 
be married to the men in question?  
 
In a message dated 4/22/2008 6:33:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time,  
Hamilton02 at aol.com writes:

I'm not sure the born-into element is relevant (except for the likely  
defense by the women of brainwashing). You are in a conspiracy if you take  actions 
that lead to the criminal result.  There is no question that all  adults in 
the FLDS engage in practices that lead to the rape and essentially  prostitution 
of young girls to much older men. Not only rape, but also  Mann Act 
violations.
 
 Smith is determinative on child abuse issues -- there is  no religious 
defense to sex abuse.  These issues have been litigated in  the clergy abuse cases, 
and the vast majority of courts have ruled that  religious motivation is no 
defense to the perpetration  of sex abuse  or the fostering of it.  
 
If the only element here were polygamy, we could have a very different  
discussion (though I would still side with the proposition that Smith  makes the 
practice illegal even if practiced for religious  motivations).  The rape aspect 
of the culture takes us well beyond the  that hypothetical, though.
 
Marci



 



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