this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2025
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United States | News & Politics
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Can we, y'know, maybe be more accurate in talking about this? Pedophilia is a disorder by which people are sexually aroused by and attracted to pre-pubescent children who lack the development of secondary sexual characteristics. Pedophiles, on some level, know it's wrong and hide it, and I believe most don't want to be that way and many decide not to act on it.
On the other hand, a 17-year-old is fully sexually mature. This guy isn't a pedophile, stuck with a mental health issue that he was born with. No, he's a creep who chooses to be a deeply-shitty person, probably because he gets off on the power differential between himself and a 17-year-old. If power is your kink, there are plenty of more-or-less healthy ways to indulge in power play with a consenting partner. He's a member of a political party/cult that celebrates hierarchy and using power to hurt people.
TL;DR: He's not a pedophile, he's worse. We should stop smearing pedophiles by confusing them with Republicans.
Right it is also worth noting that under Minnesota law, if her were simply going to sleep with a 17 year old girl (or even a 16 year old) who was consenting without coercion or payment, that would be legal. The thing that was illegal here was the solicitation, the offering of money to a minor for sex. So he's not even just a sleezeball that likes to find young girls that will sleep with him, he's a sleezeball who can't do that without some sort of incentive, so he offers money instead.