16-year-old girl cleared of ‘truth or dare’ sex abuse

A teenage girl who had sex with two underage boys in a game of ‘truth or dare’ has had sexual abuse charges against her dropped. Varbergs District Court ruled that the girl, who was 15 at the time of playing the game in Kungsbacka in western Sweden, had not subjected the boys to any abuse.

According to the court, the boys, who were under 15 at the time and therefore below the legal age of consent in Sweden, had actually exploited the girl in order to shed their virginity. It was decided that the girl, who is now 16, did not coerce or influence her playmates in anyway.

The charges were filed by prosecutor Lena Lithner of the public prosecution office in Halmstad and the police argued that the law should apply to everyone.

“We have a law that says one should not have sex with someone else who is under 15. I think that one should follow the law regardless of whether one is a girl or boy,” said detective chief inspector Inger Ohlsson to Radio Halland at the time.

Sex with a minor would usually be classified as statutory rape but suspects are typically charged with sexual abuse when the age difference is so small. Elisabeth Johansson, the girl’s lawyer, commented on the indictment, saying she was surprised that prosecutors had decided to pursue such a case which is extremely uncommon in Sweden.

‘Truth or dare’ is a game often played by teenagers who must opt to either tell their playmates a secret or take on a challenge.

Photo: Fernando de Sousa, Flickr