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Friday February 10, 2012
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15 year old female, 27 year old male
Virginia
My daughter was 15 and got pregnant by a 27 year old convicted felon. She said someone else was the infants father. Took me almost a year to get a court order for dna test to prove the alleged father wasn't the father. I was finally able to put the pieces of the puzzle together to get the 27 year old info and located him. I filed via child support enforcement to get a dna test that I would not have to pay for since I could not afford it. I also filed a report with the police dept. about the incident and included the fact that she told all her friends that this guy raped her, she knew him but did not want him to get into trouble because he was "nice". I have been told by the investigating officer that there is a one year statute to prosecute this individual. If this is the case, the year had expired by the time the infant was 3 months old. He is now 20 months old. I do not think it is right for him to walk without penalty. The father who molested my daughter is also now trying to get visitaion rights for the baby. Please help! Virginia laws read that at the age of 15, this would have been considered a misdemeanor which has a statute of limitations of 1 year. So, unfortunetly, the officer may be right; however, if the 27 year old was previously convicted of a crime and was on probation at the time, or, if the previous conviction was similar in nature to this crime, it could be more serious than a misdemeanor. If you haven't already done so, ask the investigating officer if this guy was on probation or what his previous convictions were. Or, you could contact the District Attorney's office directly and set up an appointment to speak to a DA or see if they will speak to you over the telephone. The District Attorney's make the ultimate decision on what the charges are to be filed in a case and they prosecute the offenders. It doesn't cost anything to talk to a DA; however, they are usually pretty busy so it can take a little patience and percerverence. The fact that this guy was a felon previously or at the time of the offense may have an impact on how it's handled. There is just no way for us to know for sure. someone I know is with a girl who is underage and he is over the age. Her parents are okay with them being together and have been so far for over a year. If things went sour with him and his girl and they haven't done anything sexually, could she report him as in (Blackmail) to the attorney's and if so what could he be faceing in this case? My friend dated this guy (her Ex now) when she was 15 about to turn 16 and he was 23,they had sex. But now she might be pregnant, and he was the only one she was with. What will happen to him if the State finds out, or if the parents are okay with him and her geting back together? There really is no way for us to know what may or may not happen in your situation. Some go unreported, and some do not. If the adult has a criminal history already, this can impact potential outcomes also. Some of these cases get reported and often due to lack of funding and state recources may or may not be investigated. Given your age and his age if anything did happened from a criminal legal perspective it would possibly fall into a "misdemeanor" catagory if he has no criminal history. Parents are not the only people who can or may report these issues and if state laws are violated, a parents consent does not generally have the power to override a State law or violations of that law. Something that you will need to be aware of also are "Mandatory reporting laws". If any medical professional treating the minor has a suspicion or has knowledge that there was sex abuse or neglect they are duly bound by the law to report it to authorities. Due to the mandatory reporting laws in all states, when a teen becomes pregnant at an age that is below the legal age of consent, this can be reported to the authorities by someone other than the parent, whether the parents report it or not. Professionals Required to Report
If anything is reported to police, the report will either be dropped or be sent to the District Attorney (DA) for review. The DA will be the one to determine if an investigation into the matter is warranted or if an arrest is made. You will find a list of the laws in Virginia under Chapter 4, Crimes Against the Person: Post new comment
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If it's actual rape (not "statutory"), it's a felony (not a misdemeanor) and the statute of limitations is GREATLY increased. The problem is whether there's anyway to prove rape. Has your daughter stuck with her story that it was rape? Or has she said different things at different times? If the latter is true, it might be too difficult of a case to prosecute... more like "he said, she said." That may be why the local DA decided not to prosecute.
However, it's NOT too late to get a judgment for child support, if you can prove the child is his, which he seems to be admitting already in his quest for visitation. Consult a local lawyer. This guy's wallet may be the best way to get back at him.
Sadly, Virginia does not appear to have a law that negates the parental rights of a man who impregnates-by-rape the mother of his child. Yet. It could happen soon, though. For further reading on the parental rights of rapists, see
http://childsupportguidelines.com/articles/art200106.html
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2008/04/10/parental-rights-for-rapists