Foley Claims He Was Molested As A Teen?This
sad story just got a little sadder.
Disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley said through his lawyer Tuesday that he was abused by a clergyman as a teenager, but accepts full responsibility for sending salacious computer messages to teenage male pages.
Attorney David Roth said Foley was molested between ages 13 and 15 by a clergyman. He declined to identify the clergyman or the church, but Foley is Roman Catholic.You know, the irony here is that the messages he sent were probably not illegal, nor would having sex with one of the teenage pages, provided the pages were at least 16 years old. That is the age of consent in DC. Indeed, it is arguable that the real crime here is that Foley offered the page a drink.
Granted, it's slimy and unethical for other reasons. But most of the media outlets covering the story seem to be highlighting the "minor" aspect of the pages, and ignoring the fact that by law, they were adults as far as sex goes.
Update:
Wild Bill promises a scoop later this afternoon.
