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Recently, Newsweek released a story about a 14 year old girl that used a ride share to get to a train. The purpose was so that she could travel across 9 states to meet with a 51 year old male that she met on social media. The police in both states assisted in determining how to address the matter. Both persons were found in the home state of the male, the laws there make the story interesting from a legal analysis perspective if disturbing from an actual facts perspective. Law requires unbias assessment and objective reasoning.
Many people will currently consider this to be an edge case in age gap dating, meaning that it is at the further ends of what people find acceptable. Think 33 and 70, 30 and 67, or 80 and 43.
The male was arrested and charged in North Carolina by the State as that is the standard procedure. The female having originated from Connecticut may also be subject to legal analysis there. The male may not have met the requirements for sufficient contacts in her home state, but a diversity of citizenship claim may allow for the allegations to be examined under the laws of both states.
The male has been charged with 4 counts of sexual contact with a minor under 15, and 1 count of kidnapping which has a reasonable defense. Examination of his home state laws will reveal whether or not kidnapping requires coercion and whether there is an exemption for this if the person being kidnap is below a certain age. Charged with 4 counts of violating NC CL §14-27.25.
Interestingly, the girl may have comitted a crime herself. Upon entering his home state, she became subject to state law as she now had sufficient contacts with the state. In North Carolina, if an adult or minor solicits another person to commit a felony, that is a crime there NC CL §14-2.6. This brings up the questions of neglect, abuse, parental controls, and state custody. Should the teenager be returned to her parents?
North Carolina defines a minor as anyone under 18 years of age NC CL §14-2.6(f)(1),(2) and there are various classifications between 12 and 16. A first degree sexual contact NC CL §14-27.24 is for a child under 13 and with at least a 12 year old who is 4 years older or more. NC CL § 14-27.25 allows a 15 year old to have sexual contact with someone up to 20 years old, 19 for a 14 year old, and 18 for a 13 year old.
Connecticut has its own laws and defines this same behavior as a class B felony with a minimum 9 month jail sentence if the child is between 13 and 16 and the other person is at least 3 years older, Conn. Sec. 53a-71. They make an assessment for Commercial Sexual Abuse, Conn. Sec. 53a-83b, Misrepresentation of Age, Conn Sec. 53a-90b, Enticing a Minor, Conn. Sec. 53a-90a, and require those convicted to undergo psychological counseling if the younger person is under 10, Conn. Sec. 63a-40c. Connecticut defines a person between 16 and 18 is as a Youth Conn Sec. 54-76b(1),
The app is based out of San Francisco, CA. It is advertised as "an online dating app for flirting, chatting, and getting to know new people". They offer "live chat and an opportunity to meet authentic matches".
This is a common internet scenario that has most federal prosecutors and local law enforcement befuddled on how to proceed with a case. There are two states, a possible third party in an additional state, and while there may diversity of citizenship 28 U.S.C. § 1332, the matter may have a value of under $75k.
The way this issue is normally handled is by raising a federal question on due process, 28 U.S.C. § 1331, U.S. Const. Amdt. 14, 5. There must also be a correlating law that allows transfer to U.S. District Court or Removal from State Court. This is found in 18 U.S.C. 2243(a) which allows for a fine, 15 year imprisonment, or both. To Clarify 18 U.S.C.2243(a)(2) reads "knowingly engages in a sexual act with another person who ... and is at least four years younger. The age range in question is 12 to 16, defined as a minor.
The U.S. District Courts have various ways to deal with controversies between the citizens of two states. One is to examine state law of both states and come to an agreement that is within federal law. Here, this allows for a fine at a minimum. It also allows for up to 15 years maximum if it is not transferred back to the state. NC CL §14-27.28 requires that a sentence of 300 months be imposed for sexual contact with a minor under the age of 13. It does not define a sentence for other offenses and leaves sentencing to the courts through Article 81B, NC CPA §15A-1340. § 15A-1334, 15A-1340.12, 15A-1340.14, 15A-1340.16B, 15A-1340.17, 15A-1340.19B add context to the sentencing procedure in North Carolina.
North Carolina also allows for a minor to have contractual obligations at 16 if they are in the legal custody of social services NC Stat. § 48A-4, however while § 48A-2 defines a minor as anyone under 18, §48A-1 declares the definition of minor is abrogated. NC CL allows for a minor to be defined as someone under the age of 18 who is married or judicially emancipated. NC CL § 14-41 is abduction of children without legal justification, NC CL §14-39 is kidnapping of persons over 16 or under 16 without parental consent. NC CPA § 15A-1125.1 defines a child as under the age of 16. NC CPA §14-43.14(c) possibly allows the minor to be placed into Social Services. It can be persuasive or declaratory and may allow trial.
Two other laws of interest in North Carolina are NC CL §14-32.3 on Neglect of Disabled and Elder Adults, NC CL §14-43.15, Minors considered to be abused or neglected, NC CL §1316.1 Contributing to delinquency and neglect by others, and NC CL §14-318.6, failure to report crimes against juvenilles.
Conclusion
A legal analysis shows that North Carolina has the strictest laws regarding the incident and it had sufficient contacts with both individuals. The state likely has cause to take the minor into custody of social services, it can possibly allow a marriage, the U.S. District Court can remove the case and sentence the male to 15 years or allow a fine. The developer can be summoned on an inquiry about its date matching algorithm. NC CL §14-16.10 is important in defining a court officer in this case.
Sources
North Carolina Legislature, Bills and Laws, NC Statutes https://www.ncleg.gov/Laws/GeneralStatutesTOC
Connecticut Statutes https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/titles.htm?ver=25
28 U.S.C. Ch. 109A
NC. Stat. 14, 15A, 48A
Conn. Gen Stat. Ch. 960A, 939, 949g, 952
Additional Resources
Unidentified child map https://ncmec.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=504833a14fcb42198d67a2c53fcbc96e
National Missing Person Database https://www.namus.gov/Dashboard
Mapping Human Trafficking https://www.freedomcollaborative.org/data-dashboard-vjm
The standard way to discover the correct state databases is by doing a search for "state name legislature" this will normally show a .gov website on the first page. Go to the Laws, Statutes, or Legislation pages. For U.S. District Court, go to U.S. Courts.gov and type in the state name. Use unitedstateszipcode.org to zoom to the court room zip code and incident zip code. It may be necessary to use an internet search to discover the zip code of the incident location e.g. "city name zip code". This is normally work attorneys do, as a legal researcher stop at state laws, u.s. code, and general district map for a state. It helps to know which parts of a case will need to be transferred to U.S. District Court for examination of the U.S. Code or Federal Court Procedure. Case filings would need to be completed by the expected due dates. May 14 for this case.
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