[outlaw]

Originally Posted by Jima64

Would be interesting to see stats on the Nam wives. What would "many" equate to?

Thousands. Most of these women I have met are happy to be in the US. This was their ticket out of extreme poverty. They are considered wealthy when they visit family in Vietnam.
US culture is different than many places such as Vietnam, where it is not unusual to marry at a very young age.

[outlaw]

Originally Posted by Villager Joyce

Please tell me you aren't condoning this behavior? I would like to hear what the many teenage girls brought back as wives think. Do you think they had a choice? Some think of this as legali. I think it is legalized rape. Rape is rape.

I don't think this guy was convicted as a pedophile. That is a desire for prepubescent girls/boys, usually up to age 12.
Many/most of these teenage girls are happy that they were able to escape their extreme poverty, and are living a dream life compared to what their other family members are living. Most that I have met are totally assimilated Americans and love our way of life.

[outlaw]

Pedophilia or paedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty at age 10 or 11, and boys at age 11 or 12.

This case involved a "14 yo". Very common in many countries, even legal marriage in some states.

[Villager Joyce]

There are so many things I would like to say in response, but I think the readers of your post get it. I don't need to point out anything.

[outlaw]

Originally Posted by Villager Joyce

There are so many things I would like to say in response, but I think tbe readers if your posy get it. I don't need to point out anything.

Please come on and repost your thoughts when your daughter/grand daughter is legally raped or prostitutes herself to get out of poverty.

Look. I get it. Many people are repulsed by something like this. But you were raised in a different culture. To many people, drastic age differences between a man and a girl is not offensive, and not abnormal. It is a fact. I know people in these relationships, and no matter how you want to think these young girls were "raped" or abused, you are shoving your culture on them. They are truly happy families with healthy happy children living the American dream. I'm not saying this particular guy is a saint. He may very well be a sleazeball. But he could also be a very lonely guy that was just looking for a relationship and got sucked into a sting operation. Would you feel this way if the situation involved a 15 yo girl that looked like a 20 yo dating a 40 yo man? How about a 17 yo girl dating a 25 yo man?

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by outlaw

Look. I get it. Many people are repulsed by something like this. But you were raised in a different culture. To many people, drastic age differences between a man and a girl is not offensive, and not abnormal. It is a fact. I know people in these relationships, and no matter how you want to think these young girls were "raped" or abused, you are shoving your culture on them. They are truly happy families with healthy happy children living the American dream. I'm not saying this particular guy is a saint. He may very well be a sleazeball. But he could also be a very lonely guy that was just looking for a relationship and got sucked into a sting operation. Would you feel this way if the situation involved a 15 yo girl that looked like a 20 yo dating a 40 yo man? How about a 17 yo girl dating a 25 yo man?

There are reasons that young people under 18 are under the "control" of their parents. There are reasons there are laws to protect them from stuff like this. Laws like statutory rape, the Mann Act, laws against sex trafficking. You can argue culture and I say Common Sense is the issue here.

"A very lonely guy that got sucked into a sting operation" is a reach. With available opportunities among consenting adults, I say horsesh*t.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

There are reasons that young people under 18 are under the "control" of their parents. There are reasons there are laws to protect them from stuff like this. Laws like statutory rape, the Mann Act, laws against sex trafficking. You can argue culture and I say Common Sense is the issue here.

"A very lonely guy that got sucked into a sting operation" is a reach. With available opportunities among consenting adults, I say horsesh*t.

It would be nice to know more about the sting operation. If it were some ad for sex with a minor that is one thing. If it is just someone who mistook the age of a picture on the Internet of some detective in drag, then that is another.

[zonerboy]

I would think that the majority of "child molestors" do not grab kids off the street so that they can molest them. Rather, most of them know their victims and carefully "groom" them so that they can be molested repeatedly and without violence. This being the case I would not be overly concerned if a one time convicted offender lived in my neighborhood. With a minimum of caution and awareness there should be no problems.
Just my opinion.....it's the offenders we don't know about who represent the danger.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by zonerboy

I would think that the majority of "child molestors" do not grab kids off the street so that they can molest them. Rather, most of them know their victims and carefully "groom" them so that they can be molested repeatedly and without violence. This being the case I would not be overly concerned if a one time convicted offender lived in my neighborhood. With a minimum of caution and awareness there should be no problems.
Just my opinion.....it's the offenders we don't know about who represent the danger.

That's very true. Or naive kids who are not taught by their parents about what to look out for from even known sexual offenders.

[outlaw]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

There are reasons that young people under 18 are under the "control" of their parents. There are reasons there are laws to protect them from stuff like this. Laws like statutory rape, the Mann Act, laws against sex trafficking. You can argue culture and I say Common Sense is the issue here.

"A very lonely guy that got sucked into a sting operation" is a reach. With available opportunities among consenting adults, I say horsesh*t.

If it were not for laws, this behavior would be a lot more common than you could imagine. There is a reason Thailand, Vietnam, etc., are a hot spot for older single American men. One does not need laws for things that would otherwise not happen. Drunk driving laws are a good example. Drug laws. Speeding laws. Many states allow marriage of very young people; 14, 15, 16, yo. A 30 yo man can legally marry a 14 yo girl, publicly celebrate the marriage, post the wedding in the local paper, etc., yet a 30 yo man becomes a pariah if he has sex with a 14 yo girl? Seems a little hypocritical.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by outlaw

If it were not for laws, this behavior would be a lot more common than you could imagine. There is a reason Thailand, Vietnam, etc., are a hot spot for older single American men. One does not need laws for things that would otherwise not happen. Drunk driving laws are a good example. Drug laws. Speeding laws. Many states allow marriage of very young people; 14, 15, 16, yo. A 30 yo man can legally marry a 14 yo girl, publicly celebrate the marriage, post the wedding in the local paper, etc., yet a 30 yo man becomes a pariah if he has sex with a 14 yo girl? Seems a little hypocritical.

This all seems very..........Freudian.

[RickeyD]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

This all seems very..........Freudian.

"Sigmund Freud emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind, and a primary assumption of Freudian theory is that the unconscious mind governs behavior to a greater degree than people suspect. Indeed, the goal of psychoanalysis is to make the unconscious conscious."

[RickeyD]

Originally Posted by outlaw

If it were not for laws, this behavior would be a lot more common than you could imagine. There is a reason Thailand, Vietnam, etc., are a hot spot for older single American men. One does not need laws for things that would otherwise not happen. Drunk driving laws are a good example. Drug laws. Speeding laws. Many states allow marriage of very young people; 14, 15, 16, yo. A 30 yo man can legally marry a 14 yo girl, publicly celebrate the marriage, post the wedding in the local paper, etc., yet a 30 yo man becomes a pariah if he has sex with a 14 yo girl? Seems a little hypocritical.

New Hampshire allows a 13 year old female under "special causes" YIKES !!!

[Villager Joyce]

Originally Posted by outlaw

Look. I get it. Many people are repulsed by something like this. But you were raised in a different culture. To many people, drastic age differences between a man and a girl is not offensive, and not abnormal. It is a fact. I know people in these relationships, and no matter how you want to think these young girls were "raped" or abused, you are shoving your culture on them. They are truly happy families with healthy happy children living the American dream. I'm not saying this particular guy is a saint. He may very well be a sleazeball. But he could also be a very lonely guy that was just looking for a relationship and got sucked into a sting operation. Would you feel this way if the situation involved a 15 yo girl that looked like a 20 yo dating a 40 yo man? How about a 17 yo girl dating a 25 yo man?

We are not discussing other cultures. We are discussing people who live in the United States. Your forgiveness for the sting operation is what really puzzles me. He wanted to have sexual relations with a minor. Period. If he wasn't trying to have sex with a minor, he could not have gotten sucked into a sting operation.
Your reference to looking older is just as puzzling. Jon benet Ramsey looked older. Was she fair game?
Were you a criminal defense attirney?

[RickeyD]

Age of marriage in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Seems very hypocritical. It's ok to have sex with a minor as long as its her husband? What if she's married at 16 and has sex with a 30 year old who's not her husband, is this illegal ? Or ok because she's married. Very confusing...