Could this be Karma?
Let me say this first and most importantly… everyone accused of the crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty and we are strongly against sexual abuse of any kind. It is important to establish that this post is not to implicate someone of a crime before they have been convicted and certainly not to celebrate the commission of an offense.
That said… some news that came out last night got my attention… Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz is under investigation for sex trafficking a minor.
This is the same Matt Gaetz, who when running for office put out a television commercial announcing he plans to “fix” sex offender laws by creating longer mandatory minimum sentences (see: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/longer-prison-terms-only-works-for-politics/). This is also the same Matt Gaetz whose father, former Florida Senate President Don Gaetz, promised to make Florida “Scorched Earth for Sex Offenders” (see: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-xpm-2013-12-21-os-ed-sexual-predator-epidemic-20131220-story.html).
Isn’t that a bit fortuitous (again, not the offense but who the accused is)? We’ve always said that ‘until it happens to them or their child’ they won’t realize or care about the draconian laws they created.
If the allegations are proven and Matt Gaetz has to do time and register as a sex offender, he will become the beneficiary of all the “scorched earth” laws he and his father helped create. Could this be Karma?
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I dunno. First, isn’t 17 the legal age in FL? And also, Gaetz seems to want the interview recordings to be released according to this article below. And lastly, I was a fan of Gaetz but I had no idea that his father wanted to make FL a “scorched earth” for those with sex offense convictions. Hmm
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/03/boom-matt-gaetz-demands-fbi-doj-release-recording-former-doj-official-threatening-family-extortion-alleged-former-doj-official-implicated-named-video/
Maestro
The Florida Age of Consent is 18 years old.
Individuals aged 17 or younger in Florida are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape.
Florida statutory rape law is violated when a person has consensual sexual intercourse with an individual under Age 18. Close in age exemptions exist, allowing minors aged 16 or 17 to engage in sexual intercourse with a partner no older than age 23.
I respectfully disagree with this statement…
This is one of many law firm sites btw, I am in no way endorsing this business but the information posted IS valid.
https://www.smithandeulo.com/romeo-and-juliet-law-in-florida/
Under Florida law you can NOT engage in legal sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 18… Ever. The R&J Statute only allows for removal from the registry under certain conditions AFTER a conviction.
Its call the Romeo and Juliet law and I believe they have to be within 5 years of each other. If convicted of a sex crime that falls in this category. It is a lot easier to be removed from the registry and in some cases you might not even be put on the registry. Had my victim been a few months older I would have fell into this Romeo and Juliet law category. Also and while I don’t promote or encourage this but if they are 16 or 17 they can engage in sexual activity with a person older than 18 with “parental consent”. Or at least that was the law back in 2001 when I was being prosecuted. Just offering my 2 cents incase someone might know someone or someone on here that falls within these parameters to be removed from the registry or help defend their case in court.
4 years
Oh yeah. Its 4 years. My charge fell just short (about 2 months) of that mark. Which put me technically 5 years older. Nearly the same situation as the guy you guys just posted about. Btw, for some reason I’m not recieving any notifications of posts to all these discussions. I check the boxes at the bottom but receive no notifications. Is there a big that needs to be fixed somewhere or am I doing something wrong.
Tim
Have you checked your spam folder? I was having that issue when I first signed up. Because when you elect to get emails from a post, you get ALL of the comments and that freaks out the spam bots.
Just a thought
I haven’t. I forgot all about that. I always get the initial post/articles but never follow up comments etc. Thanks, I’ll go check it now.
Florida is one of the 10 states in the US where the age of consent is 18.
https://www.ageofconsent.net/states
Well… wait a minute…. this means that John Walsh CAN and SHOULD be brought up on statutory rape charges because his wife was only 17 when they met and in the video I saw of him (at a younger age) talking about it, I specifically remember him saying that he wanted to make sure she was legal age and he was relieved to find out she was 17 and that age was ok. Because he was 23 or 24 at the time.
Since there is no statute of limitations on this “crime” anymore, how about we rally for a retroactive charge against him then?
This has gotten beyond ridiculous.
You want FAC to advocate punishing a guy for dating his wife when she was 17?
it’s not what it is, it’s who it is…https://floridaactioncommittee.org/those-who-scream-the-loudest/
“You want FAC to advocate punishing a guy for dating his wife when she was 17?”
To make a point… yes!
BTW, I never said it had to be done by FAC, but how about all of us who were/are registered due to a statutory law even when the courts recognized it as consensual?
Such relationships are not exactly the definition of “threats to public safety”.
Sc
What is hilarious, you can get down and funky at with someone at 18 legally , but have to be 21 to have a beer.
While the consent age in Florida may be 18, sex would not be a crime if he took her to a state where the legal age is 16 or 17. It is not illegal under federal law to transport a minor to another state even if it is for lawful sex in that state. That is unless he provided money or some other in-kind payment for sex. In that case, federal human trafficking statutes would kick in.
Notice that Gaetz has stated that paying for flights or hotel rooms for legal partners is not a crime. “You know, I’ve paid for flights, for hotel rooms. I’ve been, you know, generous as a partner. I think someone is trying to make that look criminal when it is not.”
It is almost as if he is setting the stage for a defense claiming he did not provide any compensation. If (and I emphasize ‘if’) he did indeed travel with a 17 year-old and in some sense compensated her in exchange for even legal sex, he could be in a world of hurt under federal human trafficking laws. If sex with a 17 year-old was illegal in the state then the Mann Act would apply in addition to any state statutes.
Veritas.
Wrong wrong wrong. He has too many connections. They know too many judges. Although supposedly not negotiateable, I have seen a few cases where someone was charged but avoided registration with a plea (Don’t ask cause I do not know how they skirtted the system)
But then again, regardless of what he has done to us, he also deserves a fair trial and if he is NOT guilty, at least maybe he got a feel for what we go through. On the other hand, this might piss him off so much he takes it out on us with a new bill.
“As long as there are men in power, there will be corruption.”
—Cherokee Jack
I seen a case with my own eyes in the court room where a guy made a deal to dodge the registry. He was 23 she was 15. They cut a deal and he was not placed on the registry. Funny how I never got a chance to try and avoid the registry. Maby thats because it didn’t exist when I went to court. We made a deal. But as you know that state reached back and grabbed me retroactively. I Wish I would have had that chance.
Exactly, he will either get the charges dropped or be allowed to plea down to a misdemeanor offense and skirt the registry.
Many people get out of it that way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Foley_scandal
Foley was chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, which introduced legislation targeting sexual predators and created stricter guidelines for tracking them.
Florida officials investigating Foley decided not to charge him, citing a lack of evidence.
Karma? Perhaps. Schadenfreude? Most definitely. First they will see well they’re saying now. Never happened, it’s all a big plot by the Left. Then perhaps he will say something like “even if it is true, so what?” Folks like Gaetz will
Always be different. Regular rules do not apply to them.
Him being under the microscope from these allegations is enough for me to say it is Karma. Even Tucker Calrson said the interview with Gaetz about this was “one of the weirdest interviews” of his career. But Tucker Carlson (who has railed against SOs) didn’t go far enough because he failed to mention in depth what FAC pointed out about the Gaetz legacy of laws against SOs
Tucker was incredulous because of the blackmail/extortion gaslighting Goatz was bleating about.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tucker-carlson-confused-matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-denials-weirdest-interviews-083448424.html
“Welcome to the Machine”
- Roger Waters
Buuuuuuuwaaaaaaaahahahaha
Buuuuuuuwaaaaaaaahahahahaaaaa
Buuuuuuuwaaaaaaaahahahahaaaaaaaaa
Sorry….that started my day off really well
It doesn’t matter if he is guilty or not as he will not be prosecuted or be placed on the registry. If you do not believe me Google Florida Congressman Mark Foley.
Yeah, I was thinking too, they don’t apply the same rules to themselves (or those like themselves), but it is good that they are at least investigating this. That is a good sign. It’s also good to have one of them experience this, since we do know that they only make laws that they think will never affect them.
This also makes me think of the cult Operation Underground Railroad who pretends to be saving and protecting children from sex trafficking and child predators and has been putting out so many lies about it for years. Turns out they have protected real sexual abuse of real children and of women.
He is a extremely outspoken conservative. To be honest, I expect that they will come after him hard in the media because of his political views. Cancel culture is very real for all of us. That being said, he’s probably too well connected to ever serve any time or be placed on the registry. Money talks