Hundreds of Missouri’s 15-year-old brides may have married their rapists

[Kuggk]

http://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article204292464.html

District Court Judge Gregory W. Moeller peered down from the bench, aghast.

“I was horrified by the case,” the Idaho judge recalled recently.

In front of him, ready for sentencing, Keith Strawn — a father, 6-foot-3 with black-framed glasses the color of his boyish haircut — stood sad and penitent.

Strawn thought he had been doing right by his 15-year-old daughter, Heather, only to realize too late what a massive mistake he had made bringing her to Missouri — the easiest place in America for a 15-year-old to wed.

 

[Seano]

Yeah, similar laws exist here and there and were made to allow young girls to marry should they get pregnant out of wedlock. That USED to be a pretty big deal. Now its just a potential loophole for s.

 

[jk7707]

Something tells me that most of these cases involve religious fundamentalist types. They are typically the nutjobs that flip out if someone has a kid when they aren't married.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Interesting detail.

Heather Strawn was 14 years old when she became pregnant by her then 24-year-old boyfriend, Aaron Seaton, who had plied her with alcohol before having sex with her inside his camper parked next to the I-I Fly shop in Ashton, Idaho.

Don't know how much I'm gonna vilify a dad over a shotgun wedding. Is it easy to disagree with? Sure. Is it worthy of jail time? Not if there isn't literally a shotgun involved.

 

[Poser Caust]

Well most rapists don't take care of you and the kid afterwards so what's the big deal here

 

[rearnakedchoke]

American Taliban

 

[tonni]

What a fucking loophole. It's not statutory rape if you force them to get married.



Maybe the laws are arbitrary and you can debate whether or not a 18 year old with a 15 year old girlfriend should get prison time, but how in the world is pushing them to get married not amplifying the problem?

Minors should never be allowed to marry, period.

Edit: this guy was 24 when he impregnated a 14 year old. This was also mentioned of him:
"Moeller mentioned other worrisome sexual behaviors brought up in the evaluation, including Seaton inappropriately touching a 6-year-old girl in his bed when he was 20 and an addiction to deviant pornography."

Imagine forcing your daughter to marry that guy. What the fuck.

It gets worse:
"From 1999 to 2015, more than 1,000 15-year-olds married in Missouri. Of those, The Star’s review of data shows, more than 300 married men age 21 or older, with some in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Assuming they had premarital sex, those grooms would be considered rapists."

 

[HomerThompson]

Fucking Missouri.

@Fawlty
@Trotsky

 

[HockeyBjj]

Disappointed this combo of laws exist. Change the phrasing and locations and this sounds like some Middle East fuckery. Glad an article is bringing light to it and hopefully a change is made

 

[trolololol]

@Cint this may be relevant to your interests.

 

[LMP]

Fucking Missouri.

@Fawlty
@Trotsky

Don't be mad homie. It's not your fault Kansas sucks.

 

[Anung Un Rama]

 

[jrams]

Married at 15, Ashley Duncan of Steele, Mo., was 16 in 2009 when she give birth to D.J., the first of her four children.

 

[nostradumbass]

OK, it's obviously a white trash problem, but let's at least mention that it's statutory rape and the sex was actually consensual, cause that's quite a bit different from being forced to marry a guy who jumped out of the bushes and pinned the girl down. If you're the dad, it's either that or your young daughter gets knocked up and the guy just moves on, so there's really no winning this one.

 

[Exception]

Yeah, similar laws exist here and there and were made to allow young girls to marry should they get pregnant out of wedlock. That USED to be a pretty big deal. Now its just a potential loophole for s.

If unwed pregnancy is such a problem then why isn't it a hot button issue in politics, huh, genius? Why isn't it openly discussed by mainstream candidates? What possible motivation could there be to not openly acknowledge the problem and what we can do to solve it?

No answer?!?!?! That's what I thought you liar!!

 

[HomerThompson]

OK, it's obviously a white trash problem, but let's at least mention that it's statutory rape and the sex was actually consensual, cause that's quite a bit different from being forced to marry a guy who jumped out of the bushes and pinned the girl down. If you're the dad, it's either that or your young daughter gets knocked up and the guy just moves on, so there's really no winning this one.

Abortion?

 

[Seano]

If unwed pregnancy is such a problem then why isn't it a hot button issue in politics, huh, genius? Why isn't it openly discussed by mainstream candidates? What possible motivation could there be to not openly acknowledge the problem and what we can do to solve it?

No answer?!?!?! That's what I thought you liar!!

 

[tonni]

OK, it's obviously a white trash problem, but let's at least mention that it's statutory rape and the sex was actually consensual, cause that's quite a bit different from being forced to marry a guy who jumped out of the bushes and pinned the girl down. If you're the dad, it's either that or your young daughter gets knocked up and the guy just moves on, so there's really no winning this one.

Uhhh, it's a 24 year old with a 14 year old. That's a massive age gap. Remember when you were 24? 14? Now check out the difference emotionally.

On top of that, he got her drunk before impregnating her.

The dad had a very sensible option: reporting him to the police.

He expected an answer of you before you were able to read the question.

 

[Exception]

Listen, guy, the reality is that being knocked up while still in junior high is NOT a problem. You act as if there are negative ramifications for society when shitty families raise shitty kids to get pregnant while unmarried and still adolescents. Obviously, this is a good thing. If it were not then there would be zero reason for politicians to be hesitant to talk about the issue. Why the fuck would it not be talked about constantly if there were negative consequences?

 

[nostradumbass]

Uhhh, it's a 24 year old with a 14 year old. That's a massive age gap. Remember when you were 24? 14? Now check out the difference emotionally.

On top of that, he got her drunk before impregnating her.

The dad had a very sensible option: reporting him to the police.


He expected an answer of you before you were able to read the question.

That's great, but I wasn't dating 24 year olds when I was 14, she was. It's not like he was sitting there sipping pepsi while she was getting wasted, they were dating, got drunk, and had ill-advised unprotected sex. I obviously find it gross and creepy for a 14 and 24 to be dating, but they were voluntarily and married so the kid was only mostly doomed.