A cautionary tale regarding statutory rape

Statutory rape is no joking matter. In fact, it's one of the few crimes that you can unknowingly commit and be convicted of. And it's a crime that can land you in prison for years if you're easily deceived and let your guard down.

I'll never forget an incident that happened to me last year's spring 3oh!3 concert. And though the experience only lasted 15-20 minutes (just keep reading), it did enough to give me a wake-up call. My best friend and I decided at the last minute to go this concert. While I had not initially planned on going, this particular friend of mine likes to party and he's hard to say no to.

And to the ladies who have frequented Copperhead Road over the last year, you no doubt have seen this guy in the bathroom as a half-naked cowboy. I think you get it, he simply likes to party.

So when he randomly showed up to my house at 5 p.m. with enough booze to intoxicate at least five or 6 people and said, "Let's get started!" I was not surprised. From what I remember, we arrived at the concert around 7 and were immediately immersed in the loud music, excitement and the looming thunderstorm. Life was good. Before we knew it, however, a couple cute blondes joined us in the rowdy sea of college students. Between songs we started talking, and while I don't remember the exact subject matter, I do remember them mentioning they were both 20 years old. Naturally, I had assumed as much.

As we continued conversing, something I distinctly remember hearing slipped out between the two girls. "But proms in two weeks." Silence and shock hit, and the sound of a pin dropping could have been heard. The girl quickly realized her mistake as her expression instantly indicated "Dammit" and the eyes of her friend grew to the size of headlights. They both turned red while my friend I turned green.

"Deuces!" we echoed, and like Paris Hilton's virginity, we were gone.

Luckily, even without their company, it still turned out to be a good night. And looking back on the incident, I'm glad it happened as it really taught me to be more aware and not believe everything an attractive girl tells me about her age.

As this story shows, finding yourself in a potentially bad situation with an underage female can happen more easily than you would like to think. Someone's age is not always obvious. Now, if she has a full head of white hair and wrinkles, you're probably in the clear. Though, that's kind of gross anyway. However, in society today, girls are looking and acting older at much younger ages. It's important to keep this in mind before a uniformed officer comes knocking at your door with handcuffs at the ready. That's how serious it is, and it could happen on accident. And if it is intentional, well then you obviously deserve some time in the hammer.

The legal age of consent in Colorado is 17. There are other guidelines, like being less than ten years older than the minor, but in the end, the idea is to not be blindsided by someone's actual age. And I mean really, if you're an adult, date someone within your age bracket! Common sense can go a long way.

So this year when you're at party or a concert, pay a little extra attention to the age factor, even if she looks or act your age at first glance or interaction. It could be as easy as squeezing the, "What do you do?" question into the conversation. Is she a student, is she employed, does she live at home or on her own? These are questions that can give you a general idea and help you determine her age. After all, it's better to be safe than sorry, because you just never really know… until you know.