Thank you for saying this. I was trying to articulate something similar, but, if you don't mind, I can elaborate on what you said: I think Bob B had written the first comment I've read here which isn't full of assumptions. Ultimately we don't know what has happened here. We know that BP and Facebook police blotter, and TV News (where it sounds like a lot of this info is coming from), are anecdotal sources at best. Usually I'd say to take this news with a grain of salt. But if those really are the sources I mentioned, you should probably give that salt shaker a few good shakes! ...and start looking for the pepper grinder too! Lol. Basically, we need to give it time for more information to come out. Then we should verify it through a source we trust before assembling a pitchfork posse. I'm not saying that the gentleman didn't do anything out of line. But one of the great things about the rights we have under the US constitution, compared to most other countries, is that legally, the burden of proof in court, is the responsibility of the accuser. Has anyone here who is making assumptions and passing judgements got any solid proof to back their accusations up? On the other hand, I remember being 16-17-18 etc. For your reference I'm a male @ 50 times around the sun. I say that because some of the readers who might be any younger than me, might not know or have experience with what I'm about to say. That's OK. Your are forgiven as long as you're willing to admit that you learned something new today, and you'll never stop learning until your end. 1) When I was younger, the age of consent in most states was 15 or 16. It was fairly recently that states started changing the different ages a young person can consent too, to 18 and 21. (ie: drinking age, join the military, run for elected office, vote, get arrested and tried as an adult, concent to sex and/or marriage, etc. 2) To that point, people mature at different ages. Especially well known is the fact that women emotionally mature much earlier than men. 3) We don't know how things were at her parents house. Was she safe, and supported by her family to live and learn to her fullest potential? Or was she mocked, discouraged, or punished for trying to get a job, or learn something outside of a "normal" high school curriculum? Or worse? (I don't need to mention some of the other bad situations that she could be facing at her parents house). What I do know is that I grew up in a house that wasn't safe, like I mentioned above. I ran away several times for my safety, starting when I was around 11-12. The cops would be called by my dear old dad, and if they could catch me, it would usually take a day or two, I would first be ambushed and full on tackled and body slammed by a 200+ lb cop jumping out from behind a door. Remember, I was about 11 years old, and 80-90 lb at the time. Then handcuffed and put in the back of a police car, where I seemed to hit my head pretty hard. Every. Single. Time. Or, if they didn't have the element of surprise, they would just sic their German Shepards on us. (That's right, I wasn't the only one. Plenty of kids had it much worse than I did.) Then they'd bring me back to the place and people I was scared the most of. Even though I would tell them the reason it wasn't safe for me there. They would just have some whispered words with my father, then "make" me go inside, already beat up twice, and resigned to take whatever was dished out next... The cops even did it to my little sister! When she was so scared that her knees buckled and she couldn't go inside on her own, 3 cops and my dear old dad each grabbed an arm or a leg, hauled her upstairs to her room and threw her across the room, and slammed the door shut! Please don't misunderstand, I'm not writing this to get a reaction or pity out of anybody. I say it to make the point that this kind of thing happens. And if she's mature enough, smart enough, and ambitious, yet stuck in an oppressive situation, that can be much more damaging that other kinds of abuse. 4) Back to the point of people not all maturing at the same exact time, like they're supposed too. Lol. There are some people you might meet, that you know within minutes of meeting them, that they're an "old soul". I was one. I had a few friends my age, but I always ended up hanging out with the old-timers. Again, it could be really hurtful to assume something nefarious is going on, when, in fact, maybe their maturity and personalities actually match perfectly, and they're actually really happy to have finally met each other, and they're happy and in love! Some people are unfortunately never lucky enough to feel a love like that in their lifetimes! If this were the case, public judgement, criticism, and assumptions could turn a good thing bad really fast! And those throwing judgements and assumptions around, would be the sssholes responsible for turning a good thing bad. Not a good look. 5) So, I thing we need to be looking for updates on this story. Getting more facts before we form the pitchfork posse. Personally, I can't wait to find out more. It's a good story, and I love a good, real life mystery! ... you can learn a new perspective every day. Thanks for reading this!

Lowest state age of consent in the US is 16, zero states have 15. Many states allow for 15 to consent with someone over 18 if they are within 3 or 4 years of age depending on the state, but that is not general consent, but rather laws put in after 18 year olds were arrested for sex with fellow high school students. However in Europe there are many places with 14 or 15 age of consent

Marriage is a legal contract so thats why you have to be 18