No, there would be no federalism dispute under the fed statute. First, federal law would trump if there was a difference. Secondm there is no disagreement. The statute says that if what you did was a crime in your state, and the child was under 18 and you used the wires, you're guilty of the federal offense.
As for minors committing offenses, there are the usual questions about whether to charge someone as an adult, and there are rules about that with which I am not too familiar. but strictly speakink the teenager making internet passes at the 13 year old might well be technically criminally liable. My guess is that the authorities would not bother with a case like that.
jks
--- DoreneFC at aol.com wrote:
> Okay, but
>
> 1. Ritter was arrested and charged IN ALBANY, not in
> federal court. So for
> whatever reason the federal law was not invoked.
>
> 2. If the federal law were invoked, wouldn't there
> be a nasty states right
> dispute brewing because state ages of consent are
> lower than the federal one
> and because some state statutes are more nuanced
> about age differences
> between the parties and / or gender of the
> participants.
>
> 3. What if the person doing the inducing is a horny
> minor, say a 13-year-old
> emailing his friend's 16-year-old sister? Is that
> possibility just taken care
> of in general somewhere else in the federal code?
>
> This of course does not change whether Ritter knows
> what he is talking about
> with respect to weapons inspections. Plus he has two
> daughters that are like
> 9 years old and presumably he has thesame "no one is
> good enough for my
> kid..." reflexes as other fathers.
>
> DoreneC
>
> DoreneC
>
> In a message dated 1/24/2003 8:16:05 AM Pacific
> Standard Time,
> andie_nachgeborenen at yahoo.com writes:
>
> >
> > See 18 USC § 2422 (Coercion and enticement)
> >
> >
> > (a) Whoever knowingly persuades, induces, entices,
> or
> > coerces any individual to travel in interstate or
> > foreign commerce, or in any Territory or
> Possession of
> > the United States, to engage in prostitution, or
> in
> > any sexual activity for which any person can be
> > charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do
> so,
> > shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not
> more
> > than 10 years, or both.
> >
> > (b) Whoever, using the mail or any facility or
> means
> > of interstate or foreign commerce, or within the
> > special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of
> the
> > United States knowingly persuades, induces,
> entices,
> > or coerces any individual who has not attained the
> age
> > of 18 years, to engage in prostitution or any
> >
> > sexual activity for which any person can be
> charged
> > with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so,
> shall
> > be fined under this title, imprisoned not more
> than 15
> > years, or both.
> >
> > See also UNITED STATES v. JOHNSON, 221 F.3d 83, 86
> (2d
> > Cir. 2000) (appeal of sentence involving a guilty
> plea
> > of individual who had sex with (among others) a
> > sixteen year old girl he met on the internet).
> >
> > CREDIT(S)
> >
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>
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