by Michael W. Lynch

About the author: Michael W. Lynch is the Washington editor for Reason magazine.

“When I was growing up, there was a saying, ‘Sixteen will get you 20,’” remembers Eloise Anderson, director of California’s Department of Social Services. “Sixteen” is a girl’s age; “20” is the number of years an adult male would spend in prison if he had sex with her. For years, statutory rape laws languished in disuse. But studies show that a significant proportion of teens are impregnated by adult men, prompting politicians to once again apply such laws, which remain on the books in all 50 states. At the federal level, the 1997 welfare-reform law called on states and localities to “aggressively enforce statutory rape laws.”

Statutory Rape Convictions Cause Concern