Rape in the Virgin Islands

(St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) Check out this case from a couple weeks ago.

A 13-year-old girl who admitted to authorities that she had sex with a 16-year-old boy was arrested Friday morning on rape charges.

The girl was taken into custody at 9:35 a.m. and charged with second-degree aggravated rape, according to the Police Department's arrest log. Adults convicted of that crime face a minimum of 10 years in prison.

The boy suspected of being the girl's consensual sexual partner was arrested on Wednesday and charged with the lesser crime of third-degree rape, according to police arrest records.

Both children were released into their parents' custody after their arrests, according to police.

So the girl, 13, gets charged with a more serious crime than the boy, 16. Could someone please explain this to me? Feel free to disregard the fact that the sex has been described as consensual because the charges don't make sense any way you look at them. It's idiotic.

Oddly, St. Thomas is described as the cosmopolitan Virgin Island. Based upon this rape case, it might be said that St. Thomas is a bit more convoluted and confused than cosmopolitan.

Tip: Don Morgenstern