I rarely take much interest in celebrity story, but one legal stories this week caught my eye: a woman who is seeking paternity liability from Justin Bieber. What is fascinating is that it would seem likely that any paternity payment would be accompanied by a possible charge of statutory rape. The alleged 30-second tryst after the concert occurred when Bieber was just 16 in a state (California) with a statutory date of 18.
In this case, the woman is 20 years old with a three-month old child. That would seem to confirm that she was an adult having sex with a child.
Mariah Yeater says that the occasion of her impregnation was also the date Bieber lost his virginity. That later point would only seem to aggravate the claim of statutory rape. She claims to have had sex with him at the Staples Center on the night of October 25, 2010 after a show. She says that they had relations in a “private area” known more commonly as a bathroom.
This is a high-risk claim which, even if successful in forcing a DNA test, could result in his not being the father but in her being a criminal defendant.
It is interesting how these cases involving celebrities often disregard of the statutory rape implications as in the case of the Spears controversy. Yet we still see a steady stream of disturbing prosecutions, including allegations of different treatment given males versus females.
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It turns out Mariah Yeater was lying.
And her attorneys, Lance Rogers and Matt Pare, have left her AFTER participating in the defamation of Bieber.
Will anyone charge her with fraud? Will anyone charge Attorneys Rogers and Pare in a conspiracy to defraud, given how quickly they went public with their bogus charges?
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-bieber-sex-crime,0,7019448.story
Just as I thought far from being an all round bad boy Justine Bieber is just a sweet little kid.
I gather Bieber’s lawyer has chosen the lab to do the paternity test. Much better both sides do their own tests from samples they both witness being taken from beiber so there can be no cheating, or accusations of cheating.
Both sides will then come up with the same results, if they’re different then someone has cheated.
Dennis, Good for you for taking action. I am not sure a lot of folks would (sry for my cynicism).
I have not given a lot of thght to the age issue but it is a problem when you look up where the sexual predators are in your area and those convicted of statutory rape when the age was maybe 2 -3 years apart should not be grouped with the child moletseters, rapists, etc.
Angryman’s remarks remind me of a situation I encountered in Indiana.
While in college, I became Personnel Captain for a security service. Most of our guards were night watchmen in empty factories – mostly a fire watch. Some, however, were armed in factories, banks, or grocery stores. They did not need gun permits if the gun stayed on the premises.
Then two changes occurred. The first required background checks through the State Police, even though I’d done background checks through local police. The second change required armed guards to get a gun permit if their site had public access, like stores and banks. All guards would get a state ID card, and armed guards would also get gun permits.
One of my bank guards was an older man, well-liked by the client, impeccable in demeanor and appearance, and very much a gentleman. Much to my surprise, his state ID card was refused, because he was a felon. I called him in to see me and told him the problem. Very embarrassed, he offered to resign. I persisted that I thought this a mistake. I pressed him for details, because I didn’t want to see him lose his job.
Very reluctantly, he told me that Railroad Police had caught him and his girlfriend having sex in his car on railroad property. He was 18, and she was 16. He was convicted of statutory rape and sentenced to time served awaiting trial and to probation. I asked if he stayed in contact with the girlfriend. After a long pause, he said, “I’m married to her.”
I contacted the state entity that screened pardon requests and got the necessary forms. I helped him fill out a request for a pardon. It was granted, and he kept his job.
Why is Bieber shying away from the paternity test? He’s a devote christian and so won’t have sex until he’s married. If he has the test and shows this woman up as a fraud then others are less likely to try it on with him.
If he’s the kids’ dad then he should man up.
I believe, what we have here; although couched in righteousness and the desire to protect the helpless; is an example of the government attempting to legislate morals.
I have two teenage daughters. many of the girls their age are sexually active. Some promiscuously. Some are involved in relationships of various durations. Most of the boys seem to be cold-blooded about sex. Even those who are in relationships won’t hesitate to have sex with another girl when the opportunity arises.
The prevalence of sexual activity among teens makes me very nervous about Statutory Rape. Many teenage girls want nothing to do with the boys of their own age group. Most will say they are too immature.
You will be hard pressed to find a 20 or 21 year old man who will feel that he is doing something wrong by getting involved with a 17 year old girl. Or 17 year old girl who would hesitate to become involved with a guy that age.
These things make me feel that anytime a 21 year old is charged for sexual contact with a 17 year old; there is a high probability that we are imprisoning a typical young man for having a normal romantic relationship.
How many of our parents and Grandparents were separated by 10 or even 13 years? Many. How many of us have spouses that are 10 or even more years younger than us or older. Typically the man is the elder in these relationships but not by any means always. I understand that we want to protect young girls and boys from being victimized by sexual predators of any specific nature. But I seriously question the laws presently in force that accept the incarceration of normal young people in order to catch those predators. I object to the notion that teens are not able to consent. They are able to do whatever they choose to do and we have no power to stop them. We hope that we have taught them and we advise them but in the end, when they leave the house they are out of our control.
At the least the ages are unreasonable. And to all you smart-asses out there; No I don’t want it raised to 50. BUT. You would catch more predators and less normal kids if the age was raised to 23. By 23 young men have moved on in most cases from high school hangouts and friends to work or college friends. But at 21 a lot of young guys are still hanging with the same 16-21 year old crowd they went to school with. Relationships of one type or another happen in this environment. They always have and always will.
The point is that you can’t legislate morals. People will do what they feel is right and Ok. If however you are going to try to catch predators, you better start at the question of what the intent was; did the teen consent? Then, the parents. Are they aware? Do they feel the young man is sincere? These people are young; yes. Too young for serious relationships? Not always. If my daughter were involved with a 21 year old man who treated her well and was a sincere committed sort of guy; and he was jailed for that relationship; I’m sorry; I’d be pissed and I would feel that my privacy and that of my daughter had been violated.
Inflexible laws make for an oppressed people. I hate sexual predators of any stripe. But current statutes are far too likely to flush the baby out with the bath water. Our babies.
I do find the pratice of sensationalizing and glorifying teen pregnancy for publicity or any other reason unacceptable.
Angryman,
As also the father of two females, though mine have grown to womanhood, I agree wit your excellent statement on youth sexuality. The archaic emphasis on virginity has always seemed to me ridiculous. The emphasis should be on contraception and self esteem.
Bieber should have the test, if the child is his he should support it, if not it’s too young to be affected by the controversy now; better to get it over and done with.
And even though Bieber looks as cute as a button his pretty boy image is just unfortunate genetics, pretty sure he had some idea what was going on.
I find it hard to believe that Bieber was “taken advantage” of. I am certain he has numerous advisors, mentors, and other authoritative figures that follow him around after shows, and I would not be surprised is some those knew this happened, if indeed it did. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those figures even assisted in the rendevous.
The paternity suit may be being brought merely to seek support of this child. If the child is his, why shouldn’t he be required to support it? I am surprised by so many assuming that this girl is the “culprit” and that she has bad intentions. She has not went public, other than to file the suit. She is not making the rounds on the celebrity news interviews and celeb gossip magazines. They are both equally responsible if the allegations are true, as it takes two to conceive.
Apparently some of Bieber’s fans are upset about the 30 second issue as well. Death threats have been made against the girl in this suit along with a barrage of other Twits . . . er, Tweets.
Would this girl be considered a Cougar……
Beiber has been trying to lose his cute good boy image for a while so may be he should do the paternity test on Jerry Springer. Of course if he isn’t the father then he’s back to being the cute good boy.
Seriously, 16 is the age of consent in the UK. It’s a some what arbitrary line in the sand. The law was originally intended to tackle child prostitution in the UK but things get morally complex when you mix hormonally challenged teenagers with certain predatory behaviours.
A disturbing pattern in the UK is for 14 – 15 girls to intentionally get pregnant to attract state aid. The father is not important, they want the child because it means state assisted independence; to be fair some do make good mothers despite this.
In this case it would seem the woman pursued Beiber. That said how culpable is Beiber? Did he understand the implications of his actions? My guess is he had as much a clue as any other dead beat dad which is to say he understood the mechanics but really didn’t think it through in the heat of the moment. I also expect he knew that his fame and fortune were key components in getting laid; may be US teenage boys are more naïve than their European counter parts but just because he looks sweet and innocent doesn’t make it so.
The annoying thing is while everyone ponders the moral and legal aspects of the case no one thinks of the child. Should the child get to know who dad is? I’m inclined to say the matter should be resolved now while the child is young enough that any effects of the result can be mitigated. If I were Beiber and the dad I might be inclined to sue for custody. Then again if I were Beiber she wouldn’t have got pregnent in the first place thanks to my well developed sense of responsibilty at his age.
She enticed him to go with her by saying, “You want to see something swell?”
30 seconds is a bit much for a virgin. Maybe she counted the time it took to unzip his pants.
“She says that they had relations in a ‘private area’ known more commonly as a bathroom.”
As a young medic at a boot camp, I watched an older medic give recruits a lecture about venereal diseases. One recruit asked, “Can I catch a venereal disease on a toilet?”
The instructor replied, “You can, but it’s a strange place to take a woman.”
Maybe they will end up on the Maury show and we can find out the “truth” as to the paternity!