Child rape is illegal and should be punished even if it is a republican president or congressman.

[onenote]

49. As much as I wish the facts and law didn't operate to allow Gaetz to escape punishment, they are what they are.

While I'm quite confident that there is no one here who would defend Gaetz, facts and law still matter and, unfortunately, the facts and law in this situation have allowed Gaetz to escape punishment for his actions.

First, the facts establish (beyond a reasonable doubt in my opinion) that he had sex with a 17 year old in Florida July 2017.
Second, the law in Florida sets the age of consent at 18.
Third, the law in Florida sets the statute of limitations for bringing a statutory rape prosecution at 3 years.
Fourth, the fact that Gaetz had sex with a 17 year old in July 2017 did not come to the attention of state or federal authorities until sometime after his associate Joel Greenberg was arrested on federal identity theft and stalking charges unrelated to Greenberg's activities in procuring women and minors to engage in sex with himself and others, including Gaetz. Specifically, while Greenberg was arrested on stalking/identity theft charges in June 2020, the first mention of sex crimes came in a second superseding indictment issued in August 2020.
Fifth, while there is evidence that Gaetz had sex with the same person in the Bahamas in March 2021, by that time she had passed her 18th birthday.
Fifth, by the time information about Gaetz having had sex with a 17 year old became known, it appears that the statute of limitations had run, precluding Florida from bringing a statutory rape charge against Gaetz.

Finally, it is worth noting that after Garland took office in March 2021, DOJ aggressively pursued charges against Joel Greenberg, resulting in a plea deal with a long prison sentence.

Would we all be happier if the timeline and the applicable laws were different? I know I would. But they are what they are.