Sex Between Teacher and 18 Year Old Student Legal In Washington State

A unanimous all-female panel on the Washington Court of Appeals found that a state law banning teachers from having sex with minors does not apply to 18-year-olds. You may view the opinion here. Cradle-robbing teachers in Iowa however, should be warned; sex with 18-year-old students in the Hawkeye state is apparently illegal. From the Seattle Times:

State law does not ban teachers from having sex with 18-year-old students, according to a unanimous ruling by a panel of appellate judges.

The state Court of Appeals ruling came in a case involving Matthew Hirschfelder, a former choir teacher at Hoquiam High School who was charged with first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor in 2006 after an 18-year-old member of the choir told police she had been involved in a months-long sexual relationship with him.

Hirschfelder, who was 33 at the time, denies any relationship occurred.

Hirschfelder asked a judge in Grays Harbor County Superior Court to dismiss the case, arguing that the girl was not a minor because she was 18. The judge refused to dismiss the charge but urged the state Court of Appeals to address the issue because the state's sexual-misconduct statute seemed contradictory.

In an opinion issued Tuesday, a three-member panel of the appeals court agreed that the statute was unconstitutionally vague, and sent the case back to the Superior Court to be dismissed.

Hirschfelder argued that, even if the facts as alleged in his case were all true, no crime was committed. He argued that the statute on sexual abuse of a minor does not define the term "minor," and that both common law and other Washington statutes define that term as a person under the age of 18.

The appeals judges agreed, pointing out that the law was grouped with other statutes prohibiting the sexual exploitation of children, where the term "minor" is defined as someone under 18.

In my Criminal Law class, I always raise the possibility of strict liability being applied in sex crimes other than statutory rape based upon age. Among the scenarios we discuss are doctor/patient, guard/prisoner, and teacher/student. This case certainly throws a wrinkle into that discussion. 

H/T: How Appealing.