It has been argued that the motivating factor behind the prosecution's pursuit of the case was the fact that the consensual participants were both male - and therefore, the older teen was not protected under the so-called "Romeo and Juliet" law, which decriminalizes consensual sex between teenagers, usually provided that there is no more than three years age difference between the participants.
Well, the state of Georgia has done even better. Or worse, depending on your perspective. Instead of homophobia fueling the charges, it is good old fashioned racism.
In Floyd County, GA, in a small town called Rome, about an hour from Atlanta, an 18 year old high school senior named Marcus Dixon was prosecuted for rape, kidnapping, and "aggravated child molestation."
There is no claim this time that the prosecution is playing anti-gay politics; this was a heterosexual couple. But bigotry and discrimination almost certainly entered into the equasion: this was a mixed race couple. The 18 year old boy is black, and his 15 (three months shy of 16) year old girfriend is white.
Marcus is a sports star and a scholastic star: 3.96 Grade Point Average, 1200 SAT score, and despite being widely recruited by many leading football schools, he chose a scholarship to Vanderbilt - the weakest football team in the Southeastern Conference, but arguably the best scholastically. His reason for accepting the scholarship from the school with the worst team? "I want an education."
And, despite the fact that Georgia has a law on the books similar to the Romeo & Juliet law in Kansas, allowing consensual sex between teens provided there is no more than a three year age difference, the prosecution chose this case as the first time in Georgia history to prosecute an 18 year old for having consensual sex with a 15 (almost 16) year old.
The jury took no time at all to come back with a not guilty verdict on the rape charge; the girl herself admitted the sex was consensual.
However, the jury admitted that based on the law as described, they felt they had no choice but to return a guilty verdict on the charge of Aggravated Child Molestation. Several jurors stated after the fact that they were absolutely stunned to find out that Marcus was sentenced to TEN YEARS WITHOUT PAROLE for the offense of having consensual sex.
An Atlanta attorney, David Balser, has taken on Marcus' appeals, pointing out the conflict between two Georgia laws (and the following is a copy and paste from an article on the website rivals dot com):
The first (O.C.G.A. 16-6-3) states that consensual sex between two teenagers of less than three years' age difference is a misdemeanor, not normally punishable by any jail sentence. The second (O.C.G.A. 16-6-4) states that an age difference of two or more years, when one of the two is 18 or older, necessarilly constitutes a felony child molestation conviction.
If upheld, the court's decision in the Dixon case would make it possible for any 18-year-old high school student to serve a mandatory 10-year prison sentence for having consensual sex with a classmate who is more than two years younger than him/her.
The stories found online make it clear the only reason this case was prosecuted was because of the race of the individuals involved. The net result of this is that 18 year old Marcus, for the offense of having consensual sex with his girlfriend, now will not only attend Vanderbilt (that scholarship offer is revoked), he won't graduate high school (one credit to be finished, I guess he can do it in prison) and of course, is a convicted felon.
Bigotry and racism in all its' forms offend me. And I hope this conviction is overturned.
-- JT
Supporting story links:
Choose A Side: Did Marcus Dixon's punishment fit the crime?
