A male baby sitter showed his genitals to an 8 year old child, is this child sexual abuse in D.C.?

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Question:

An 18-year old male babysitter asked my eight-year old daughter to massage his back.  He then exposed his genitals and asked her to perform a sex act.  Can he be charged with child sexual abuse in D.C.?

Answer: (1)

Courts have consistently held that children are unable to consent to sexual conduct with an adult because they are not aware of what is happening to them.  Pursuant to the sexual assault safeguards set forth in the Anti-Sexual Abuse Act of 1994 ("ASAA"), a

defendant may not raise the defense of consent on the part of a child victim.  The law aims at protecting children from any sexual relationship, regardless of whether or not there was consent or force.  If  the victim in a sexual abuse prosecution was a child when the offense was committed, a defendant who is at least four years older than the former may not raise the "consent" defense.  Under D.C. Code section 22-3006, he is deemed to have knowledge that the sexual contact or act was perpetrated without the child's permission.

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