[Vision2020] Sexual Battery Arrest at Spring Valley

[Chasuk]

On 6/1/06, Jennifer McFarland <jmcfarland at latah.id.us> wrote:

>The victim, a 17 year-old female, alleged that James M. Lively, a 24
year-old Moscow man, who was swimming in the nude had swam next to her
and had grabbed her genitals.

And:

  >The witnesses confirmed that Lively was swimming in the nude and
that the victim had left immediately after he had dove next to her in
the water.

And:

>Lively also admitted to being aware of the girl's age.  Lively was
arrested for Sexual Battery of a Minor Child, I.C. 18-1508(A), a
felony that carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

I don't want to trivialize this incident, but I am conflicted.  First,
are we talking about horseplay that was maybe a little too intimate?
Teenage boys and young men engage in this sort of play all of the
time, and, while I consider it cretinous, it hardly qualifies as
sexual battery, at least as described.  Second, was the victim also
naked?  I'm not certain whether I'm asking this for reasons of
voyeurism or actual pertinence, but it does, to me, seem at least
tangentially relevant.  Lastly, I object to the victim's description
as a "Minor Child."  I know that this is just legalese, but it isn't
accurate.  Yes, I am a hypocrite, as I refer to any person under the
age of 25 as "a nice kid," but any slightly older adult knows what it
feels like to talk to most persons up to 25 years of age, and the
feeling isn't easily distinguishable from talking to someone who is
still a teen.  However, that doesn't make them a "Minor Child."

Anyway, just my .02 cents worth.

Chas