PUTTING THE JAIL IN JAILBAIT

By ELIZABETH GLEICK

THE PHRASE "STATUTORY RAPE" HAS always had a ring of unreality to it--something associated with Roman Polanski or former Congressman Mel Reynolds, but hardly a crime to keep one awake at night worrying. Yet the fact is that 60% of the babies born to unwed teenage mothers in the U.S. are fathered by adult males, many of whom do not stick around to support these infants. In California, which has the highest teen-pregnancy rate in the country and which pays out between $5 billion and $7 billion annually in state and federal aid to families begun by teens, Governor Pete Wilson has decided to make would-be statutory rapists think twice. Last summer he allocated $2.4 million to a pilot program for 16 counties to begin prosecuting men who engage in sex with underage girls, and this month Wilson pledged $6 million more for a statewide crackdown. "It's not macho to get a teenager pregnant," Wilson announced. "But if you lack the decency to understand that yourself, we'll give you a year to think about it in county jail."

Although Wilson's measure has won bipartisan praise in California, some people believe the initiative is simply a new way to sound tough on crime in the guise of social compassion. "It's a hollow gesture," says Katherine Spillar, national coordinator for the Fund for the Feminist Majority. "It would be a lot better to put the money into social services and into education for young women and men." Some medical facilities also fear that they will be put in the role of inquisitor, forced to ask girls who seek pregnancy services about the identity of the partner. And Jeannie Rosoff, president of the Alan Guttmacher Institute, cautions that when it comes to sex, things like blame tend to get a little murky. "You cannot automatically condemn the man," she says. "The girl could have lied about her age. You really don't know what happens in those transactions."

The first case under the new initiative was filed last week in San Diego against a 21-year-old man who has been living with a 13-year-old girl in her mother's home; a hearing will be scheduled this week. "I expect some controversy," says San Diego D.A. Paul Pfingst, "but if we can make it clear that it's part of an overall strategy--not just a single silver bullet--to fight one of our most significant problems, I think it will win wide public support."

There are, in fact, already rumblings to suggest that Wilson's initiative could gain national momentum. Last year, for instance, Connecticut state Representative Robert Farr, a Republican attorney from West Hartford, introduced a bill to create a state task force on statutory rape. Though it languished in committee, Farr says he intends to revive it next month, using Wilson's plan as "ammunition." In Florida, a couple of different statutory-rape bills are pending. One would increase the penalties when drugs or alcohol is involved. Another, the so-called MAMA (which stands for "make adult males accountable") bill, would prosecute some statutory rapists under child-abuse laws--a potentially effective tactic, because medical facilities, day-care centers, conceivably even schools would then be required by law to report statutory rape like any other suspected child abuse.

Although this particular bill is not considered likely to pass, the wave of revulsion toward men who prey on young girls seems certain to build. "Society has got to send a message that this behavior is not acceptable," says Kathleen Sylvester of the Progressive Policy Institute, who has studied teen pregnancy and the role of the older male and finds herself fielding numerous inquiries from lawmakers. "If 10% of these cases were prosecuted, it would send a very strong message to society that you cannot take advantage of a young woman and get away with it. We want to reinstate the idea of jailbait."

--By Elizabeth Gleick. Reported by Jordan Bonfante/Sacramento

With reporting by Jordan Bonfante/Sacramento