A Florida woman is facing felony charges for allegedly posing online as a homeschooler to sexually assault an underage boy.
22-year-old Alyssa Ann Zinger was arrested in Tampa on Nov. 24 and taken to jail; she faces two counts of lewd or lascivious battery and five counts of lewd or lascivious molestation. The police do not believe this was an isolated incident.
“It is disturbing and unsettling to see an adult take advantage of a child and prey on them,” Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement. “Anyone who may have been a victim of Zinger’s, we encourage you to come forward. The Tampa Police Department will support you and ensure a predator like Zinger doesn’t cause you or others additional harm.”
Police say they were tipped off that Zinger allegedly had a relationship with a child between the ages of 12 and 15, and that following an investigation, they learned that she “communicated with the victim primarily through an online social media platform.”
While that’s definitely what happened often the legal definition of “rape” in a state explicitly requires penetration with a penis. So a lot of things that a normal person would consider rape are classed as sexual assault and have to be reported as such in the media. You can see this in the recent E. Jean Carroll suit against trump. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/07/donald-trump-rape-language-e-jean-carroll
The Department of Justice redefined rape a decade ago. The revised definition includes penetration with any object. I think it would be fine to call an act rape if it meets the federal definition of rape, but does not meet the state definition.
A man who receives oral sex without his consent or is made to penetrate without his consent would still not qualify as rape under the revised definition however.
Every time one of these articles comes up we have the same discussion.
I understand it’s a sensitive subject for some but the reasoning to avoid calling it rape when you’re a publication is pretty solid.