beastie wrote:I think that the first task is to try and determine whether the higher than average rates are due to higher levels of child molestation or due to higher rates of rapes of adult females, or both.
When considering comparing rates of child molestation between states, you must look at the definitions per state. The age of consent varies from state to state.have this additional information for all 50 states.
The following states all have age 18 as the age of consent:
Arizona
California
Delaware* 16 for consensual sex with someone under 30
Florida* 16 for consensual sex with someone under 30
Idaho
North Dakota
Oregon
Tennessee, statutory rape is consensual sex with anyone 13 or older is adult is more than 4 years older
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Wisconsin
Age of consent is 17 in the following states
Colorado
Illinois, except for teachers/students who must be 18
Louisiana
Missouri
Nebraska
New Mexico, but homosexual age of consent is lower
New York
Age of consent is 16 in the following states:
Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Georgia
Hawaii * but it is legal for a 14 or 15 year old to have consensual sex with adults no more than 5 years older, does not apply to married couples
Indiana, except for adults in a supervisory position even with consensual sex
Iowa
Kansas, has a Romeo and Juliet law
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnseota
Mississippi
Montana
Nevada, homosexual age of consent is 18
New Hampshire, over 18 if adult is in a positin of authority
New Jersey
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina. a person 18 or younger may have consensual sex with anhone 14 and up
South Dakota
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia
Wyoming, may be higer if adult is over a certain age
The purpose of this post is to show that since ages are not uniform, what may be a crime in one state is not in another. So be careful when comparing. Utah, and those other states where 18 is the age of consent, will have a different base than those where the age of consent is 16.
You could expect a higher number of molestation cases reported where 16 and 17 year olds will be considered as victims. Except for Idaho, all the states that touch Utah have lower ages of consent.