SJC: Boy accused of statutory rape may be victim of sex discrimination

The SJC issued its order in the case last fall and released the written opinion today. The SJC ordered Cruz's office to give the boy's defense attorney, Janice Bassil, statistics detailing how his office has handled statutory rape cases over the past five years.

Bassil said today that Cruz's office has complied. But both she and a Cruz spokeswoman declined to release the data because the underlying case is being handled behind the closed doors of the Juvenile Court system.

Bassil said the information she has gleaned is encouraging her to seek the dismissal of all criminal complaints on the grounds that her client was selectively prosecuted because he is a boy.

"We are pursing a motion to dismiss on the basis of gender discrimination,'' she said. "People should be treated the same way under the law. You can't be a perpetrator and a victim, too.''

Bassil said 38 states have "Romeo and Juliet'' laws where consensual sex among teens is treated less harshly than in Massachusetts and she suggested the Legislature should update laws here.

The Women's Rights Project and the Reproductive Freedom Project, which are part of the American Civil Liberties Union, filed briefs in support of the boy, according to Sarah Wunsch, a lawyer in the ACLU’s Boston office.

“We should not be enforcing the law based on stereotypical notions about girls as not being capable actors in the same way that boys are,’’ Wunsch said. “They are doing what teenagers are doing today -- they are fooling around sexually and the girls are participants in the same way that boys are.’’

Wunsch also noted that it was the “good parent” who initiated the conversations among the parents – and now his son is the only one facing a criminal sentence. “That sends a message that parents ought to keep their mouth shut about what they discover,’’ she said.

In a statement, prosecutor Cruz said the majority is downplaying crucial details about the case, including the fact that the boy was older.

"There are three victims in this case who are two to three years younger and two grade levels behind the juvenile,'' Cruz said in the statement. "The facts as noted in the court's opinion are not only deeply troubling but they also soundly support this prosecution.''

Cruz endorsed the views of the dissenters, Justices Francis Spina and Judith Cowin. Writing for them, Spina noted the boy was a high school student while the girls were elementary school students. He was a football player and the justices said he sometimes pressured the girls into sex acts.

For those reasons, Spina wrote, prosecutors have charged the right person. “The gender difference here is purely incidental,’’ Spina wrote. “The age difference and grade difference were the basis for the decision.’’

The boy is facing nine charges, including three counts of statutory rape. He might be required to register with the Sex Offender Registry Board, if convicted.

The community where the four children live -- and their names -- was not identified.

Bassil said the boy has been kicked out of high school because of the charges. She also said his parents are deeply troubled by what they see as an injustice being done to their son.

"His life has been derailed,'' Bassil said.

The incidents were discovered when the boy’s father read a text message his son had gotten on his cellphone. Concerned, the father contacted one of the girls’ mother and after speaking with her daughter, the woman called police, the court said.