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Uh, no, that really doesn't seem so bad, despite you using the scare word "grooming" (which appears to be a synonym of "wooing" when not being used as emotional manipulation). I think it's funny that the example YOU thought would shock me still involved waiting until she was 18. Frankly, I wouldn't particularly care if they did have sex at 16 (i.e. just slightly below the median age at which American women normally lose their virginity - and, historically and globally, well above). The 19 American states in which this is illegal are outliers in the world.
Love is love. There are lots of real crimes out there that don't involve two people giving each other pleasure in a way you don't approve of.
Not shocked so much as "no the story is not 'guy meets gal and is prosecuted'". The story is "guy is teacher in gal's school and takes up with her once she graduates but forgets to wait the legal three month period before getting into her knickers".
The headline about twenty years is clickbait. He's been accused of 'inappropriate relationship' and probably will get a slap on the wrist fine and a warning not to do it again. The interesting part, which nobody seems to be investigating, is who was the anonymous informant that told law officials about this? Somebody dropped the dime on him and if it wasn't her parents, or the girl, who was it and what was their motive?
Assuming that the facts are as reported, I hope you're right that this will be a nothingburger. My guess is the informant is just some acquaintance who didn't approve, but we'll never know (and in general it's not a good idea to track down whistleblowers, even for laws I don't like).
I do wonder who reported this, and if there isn't 'jealous ex or would like to be current squeeze' for either/both of them behind that. Or maybe her parents didn't approve but since she's legally adult now there's not much they could do, apart from report this in hopes of breaking them up. There's a lot of room for speculation. Mostly my point is that the authorities didn't search out this guy, they only took action when someone reported alleged inappropriate relationship, so it's not that "oh ho, society is out there patrolling around, trying to get men on fake charges!"
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