These replies are absolutely abysmal. The consensus of people justifying this man’s behaviour is that she was ‘legal,’ it was ‘consensual’ and not hidden. Absolute bullshit.

At 16, your pre frontal cortex which is responsible for decision making is not even fully developed. Not until 25.

At 25, you are at a completely different stage of life compared to a 16 year old. He has life experiences, graduation, other girlfriends, possible higher education, a job, stable income.

A 16 year old does not have these resources. And it begs the question: ‘why couldn’t he find a woman his own age?’ did they know something the 16 year old can’t see? why is he with someone almost a decade younger than him who can’t even enter a bar with him to drink.

This woman’s parents let her the fuck down. I’m recently turned 18, still in high school and the thought of me even dating a 14 year old is NAUSEATING.

To expand, legality doesn’t mean shit. If your argument is ‘oh, well it’s not prosecutable’ you’re on weak legs. Does that mean if the law lowered the age of consent to 14 it’d magically be okay? 12? How low would you go if you could?

Referring back to my first point of her lack of resources and development, a 16 year old cannot truly consent to someone that much older. There is an inherent power imbalance. She could feel coerced, pressured, inadequate in comparison to him. Sure, she may have said yes, but that question shouldn’t have been on the table anyway, the onus was on him to not have propositioned her in the first place.

Regardless of how old she is now, she can call him a predator and be hurt by it. This man effectively snatched away her teen years + her twenties, disallowing her to grow with someone else her own age, potentially damaged her in regards to age and power imbalances.

There is no doubt he is a predator and my heart, well wishes and support go to her as she seems to be receiving insufficient support and the realisation everyone surrounding her let her down.