Sen. Brent hill
Young males who have consensual sex with their 16- or 17-year-old girlfriends would be shielded from rape charges, under a bill passed unanimously by the Idaho Senate.
Rexburg Republican Sen. Brent Hill told lawmakers on mMonday he doesn’t believe an 18-year-old boy who makes an indiscretion with his 17-year old girlfriend should be considered a rapist or a criminal in the same category as those charged with forcible rape.
Idaho’s age of consent for females is now 18.
With Hill’s measure, which now goes to the House, men within three years of their 16-year-old or 17-year-old girlfriends could no longer be charged with rape after consensual encounters.
However, Hill’s bill does not change an archaic Idaho law that currently makes it illegal for any Idahoans to have sex out of wedlock, regardless of age – subject to six months in jail. (AP)
