I don’t really want to pile on you, since a lot of people have already addressed why the phrasing here is upsetting. I just want to suggest that, in future, if this sort of situation comes up, there are ways to split the difference. If you are concerned about using the word “rape” because that isn’t the exact wording…

Many news outlets also refused to use “torture” to describe US torture of prisoners. The US refused to call the Egyptian coup a “coup” because by law if it were a coup we couldn’t keep selling arms to them. Obama promised to call the Armenian Genocide a “Genocide” but has refused for the past 8 years to do so so as to…

Most jurisdictions do not use the word “rape” anymore and haven’t for a while. I’m not buying her excuse.

So because the DOJ and the Post are gutless turds, that gives you a pass?

Good lord. Are you joking? Did it occur to you to question why these sources were also avoiding the term, and that maybe they were wrong in doing so?

A good journalist would have looked into it before writing an article, and then stating the reason in the article (if there was one).

Courtesy of www.merriam-webster.com:

“Definition of rape

When did tippy-toeing around dominant culture terminology become more important than presenting a feminist analysis around here?

Sex trafficking and months of rape ARE NOT SEX. This headline is a disaster.

Is there a scenario where a 34 year old man using his power to coerce a family into whoring out their 14 year old daughter as a de facto sex slave to him, then repeatedly “having sex” with her, can be considered anything other than rape?

If she’s 14 and he (as an adult man) was found guilty in the US of having sex with her, it’s by definition rape.

Really fucking sick of Jezebel, of all places, calling this bullshit “sex.”

I know it’s judgey and as someone without kids, I shouldn’t, but I’m gonna. Those people suck as parents, and probably deserve some criminal charges.

Not gonna lie, totally cheering for that kid right now. That’s a HELL of a way to be like “you know what Mom? fuck you.”

Yeah, I know that this is a thing that happens. But a seven-year old? In a heavily wooded area? With an active and flourishing bear population?

It seems the more harshly you punish kids the worse they behave. When I was a kid, I used to love doing bad stuff behind my Mom’s back. It was like giving her the middle finger. My eldest brother got the harshest punishments and he still talks about it almost every time I see him. He’s currently drinking himself into…

*whispers* I bet he still does.

Are you kidding? He threw rocks at cars, was abandoned, survived for a week alone in the mountains and the Army came to fetch him personally. The kid thinks he’s fucking invincible right now. Maybe even immortal. He thinks he’s goddamned Thor.

From what I’ve read, it seems unlikely the parents will be charged with anything. My understanding is that the current law is pretty lacking in protections for the rights of children. This whole incident has sparked a debate about possible reforms to current laws.

Could have but didn’t, he learned a lesson for sure. I mean, yeah the lesson he learned was that his parents are sociopaths, but he learned a lesson.