Democratic State Representative in Minnesota Admits To Road Stop Liaison With Teen Boy

While Rep. Akin may have doomed Republican efforts in retaking the U.S. Senate, a Minnesota state representative may have done the same for Democrats in that state. Rep. Kerry Gauthier, 56, has admitted to having a liaison with a 17-year-old boy at a rest stop but insists that it was all perfectly legal since the boy was over 16 years old. The thing that struck me as the most interesting is his claim that it is not a crime to have sex at a rest stop in Minnesota.

Gauthier reportedly advertised in a Craigslist ad for “no strings attached” sex. The teen says the oral sex was entirely consensual.

Presumably, if the sex occurred in his car, there would be a danger of a public indecency charge. However, having sex in a public place is usually a criminal act. It is true that the “gross misdemeanor” provision for indecency states the age 16 criteria and that case would not fit the felony provision under Minnesota law. However, the simple misdemeanor provision would seem to apply:

617.23 INDECENT EXPOSURE; PENALTIES.

Subdivision 1.Misdemeanor. A person who commits any of the following acts in any public place, or in any place where others are present, is guilty of a misdemeanor:
(1) willfully and lewdly exposes the person’s body, or the private parts thereof;

(2) procures another to expose private parts; or

(3) engages in any open or gross lewdness or lascivious behavior, or any public indecency other than behavior specified in this subdivision.

Do you think that he should step down over the incident?

Source: HuffPo