A Columbia professor is charged over consensual sex with his adult daughter

[one...two...tree 2,762]

A Columbia professor is charged over alleged sex with his adult daughter. An expert gives some legal background

By Tracy Clark-Flory

David Epstein, a professor at Columbia University, has been arrested and charged with incest for allegedly having a consensual sexual relationship with his adult daughter. The Columbia Spectator reported the news just this morning and it has already made international headlines. It's a testament to the strength of the incest taboo, not to mention our thirst for new twists on the classic student-teacher sex scandal. In this case, the 46-year-old political science professor isn't alleged to have had sex with one of his students but rather his 24-year-old daughter, who is in the same age bracket as most of his students. What's more, his wife is a tenured professor at the university.

It has all the sordid ingredients to supply tabloid headlines for days, but far more interesting -- at least in my nerdy universe -- are the laws behind this case and others like it. After all, the relationship in this case allegedly began after Epstein's daughter reached the age of consent. It isn't a clear-cut case of child abuse, and there are no allegations that the three-year-long relationship carried on without the daughter's consent. Although, as we saw with Mackenzie Phillips, many argue incestuous relationships between parent and adult child can never truly be consensual. I went to law professor J. Dean Carro, who defended a noteworthy case in which a man was convicted of incest for having sex with his 22-year-old stepdaughter, to better understand how our legal system tackles this near-universal taboo.

Generally, in cases like this involving "consensual activity within the home," it comes down to the question of whether the government has "a compelling state interest" in regulating the activity. "Some courts recognize that the government does have an interest in regulating incestuous conduct because of the risk of pregnancy and the heightened risk of genetic defect," he says. Other courts will convict even without such a risk: In Ohio, a sexual battery statute states that a stepparent should never have sexual contact with a stepchild (and that is regardless of age). Most courts are concerned about parents preying on their children, he said. "Regardless of the age of the child, there's still a theory that a parent is always a parent, a child is always a child and, as a result, there truly can't be a consensual sexual act." That explains why the daughter isn't charged in this case. "The idea is the perpetrator is the parent and the victim is the child. We don't normally prosecute a person falling within the protected class, and you remain a member of the protected class even above age of consent."

The prosecution of "consensual" adult incest is relatively rare because most cases often don't come to the surface. "Unless somebody becomes aware of it, it occurs and people never report it," he said. When it is reported, it's usually because the other parent finds out about it, he said. And, if it involves someone in any way connected to fame or prestige -- an Ivy League school, say -- you can guarantee the media will find out about it.

http://www.salon.com/life/sexual_abuse/index.html?story=%2Fmwt%2Fbroadsheet%2F2010%2F12%2F10%2Fincest

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Things like this happen more often that the media gets to report about....

Very odd activity indeed and kind of ugh...... but not something the "law" should touch either when everything happened at an adult age...

[mawilson 2,133]

Interesting.

[Ban Hammer 12,845]

this should be interesting. see if the lwn's defend his actions or if they condemn him.

oh he's also blogged on The Huffington Post. i can't wait until that is used again as a source.

[mawilson 2,133]

this should be interesting. see if the lwn's defend his actions or if they condemn him.

oh he's also blogged on The Huffington Post. i can't wait until that is used again as a source.

They'll wait for Fox to express an opinion and then do the opposite.

[Pooky 3,353]

They'll wait for Fox to express an opinion and then do the opposite.

They will defend him by saying that he was charged with "Consensual sex with his adult daughter", rather than the actual charge of plain old, unfashionable "Incest".

It's already there, you just have to read.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

this should be interesting. see if the lwn's defend his actions or if they condemn him.

oh he's also blogged on The Huffington Post. i can't wait until that is used again as a source.

If he had been a RWN it would be a story of consentual sex with his son... Right?

Still the dude in the OP is a creep.

[Ban Hammer 12,845]

If he had been a RWN it would be a story of consentual sex with his son... Right?

Still the dude in the OP is a creep.

so why does the left hate same sex love?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

this should be interesting. see if the lwn's defend his actions or if they condemn him.

oh he's also blogged on The Huffington Post. i can't wait until that is used again as a source.

There you go again, trying to bait the thread with a political slant. You don't have to be mentally challenged to understand that a general position that supports consensual sex between two adults doesn't mean one must support incest.

[Ban Hammer 12,845]

There you go again, trying to bait the thread with a political slant. You don't have to be mentally challenged to understand that a general position that supports consensual sex between two adults doesn't mean one must support incest.

there's no politics involved here? then why is it in this forum?

or am i missing the religious angle to this?

[ready4ONE 5,400]

so why does the left hate same sex love?

I could care less about same sex love but incest is a whole other ball game.

[Ban Hammer 12,845]

I could care less about same sex love but incest is a whole other ball game.

as long as they are of the age of consent or higher, i don't give a hoot who is doing what to who.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

as long as they are of the age of consent or higher, i don't give a hoot who is doing what to who.

True their business as long as they are consenting adults but shtupping your children is somewhat off putting.

[Peikko 1,575]

Pretending that the relationship between parents and children is equivalent to other relationships and that there are no obligatory feelings that do not exist in other relationships is stupid. A man that has sex with a daughter is abusing his authority, no matter how old the daughter is. (for the mentally challenged, all parent/child sexual relationships are included in this statement)

Edited December 11, 2010 by Madame Cleo

[Ban Hammer 12,845]

True their business as long as they are consenting adults but shtupping your children is somewhat off putting.

if they feel comfortable with it, why should i condemn them for it?