I suppose that it will soon be a crime for any adult to even LOOK at someone under 161718213040... And then what? We are already building too many walls between the sexes. Every time we hear of pedophiles, we want nothing more than to tear adults away from all children, often creating problems. And then what happens if someone complains just to get back at a person or to make trouble that is not deserved?
True, pedophiles do damage. But usually the adult will initiate the use of force, coercion, or fraud to do the dirty work. Quite often, they will coerce the child into doing something, and often use force as well. This is what does the damage. Further damage is done if the adult then silences the victim, and the laws make this all the more probable that this will be the outcome. Frequently, more damage is done by silencing the victims than the original act itself.
Then what happens when a teenager actually takes the initiative? This occasionally happens, even without the adult using initiatory force, coercion, or fraud. Sometimes there is nefarious motive behind this (and hence the term "jail bait"). Sometimes a teenager will initiate the contact in order to see the person go to jail. And our legal system is perfectly engineered to accomplish just that. But, other times a teenager (perhaps 14 or 15) will legitimately fall for someone much older for legitimate reasons. In these cases, it is no one's business but the two people involved as long as the adult is being totally honest and not initiating the use of force, threat of force, or fraud. Setting the adult up in these cases only creates problems where none needed to exist.
What is of note, with the pedophile scandals within the Watchtower Society, is that the perpetrators usually initiate the use of coercion or force to do their dirty work. Usually they will get the child alone during a hounding shepherding call and do the dirty work there. Occasionally the adult will put his/her hand where it doesn't belong; it has even been known to happen right out in service! Invariably, the child will be told that, if they tell anyone, it will be viewed as "slander" and the child will be disfellowshipped. That is what does more damage than the original (usually) abuse, and sets up other children for contact with a (usually) man, often a hounder on a hounding call, that is known to abuse his (usually) position to defraud or coerce other children into unclean acts. Women in the congregation, while they may also be culprits, usually don't have as many opportunities as men.
Notice that you should be especially careful in situations where "shepherds" are alone with children, and if they are not upfront and honest with the problem. If they threaten to silence the child under disfellowshipping threats, then a serious crime has been committed. These incidents are almost never the result of a child's needing help, and almost never because a child or teenager has fallen for an older person for legitimate reasons. When they create extra problems for the child, it is almost always malice at work and this can do serious damage.
What we need is to undo some of the laws that make it easy for someone who wants to get rid of an individual to do this. Invariably, when any kind of child abuse occurs, initiatory force, coercion, and/or fraud is involved. Were those things outlawed, the perpetrators could get busted solely on that and be put out of commission for a good long time. And innocent people that are "too friendly" with children or the victim of those who would get rid of them would be protected. Bonus: Organizations like the Watchtower Society would have a legal problem that they simply would not be able to dodge through artful wording or hush money.
