Was Jamie Lynn Spears raped?

What happened

News of the pregnancy of Britney Spears’ 16-year-old sister Jamie Lynn Spears has stirred controversy over whether or not her boyfriend and father-to-be, Casey Aldridge—whose age varies according to different sources, but seems to fall somewhere in the 17 to 20-year-old range—will be charged with statutory rape for having sex with a minor.

What the commentators said

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“Jamie Lynn Spears may not be the only one who is expecting,” said Hollie McKay in FoxNews.com. Her boyfriend “could also be ‘expecting’—a visit from people wearing badges.” If the “blessed event took place in Jamie Lynn’s home state of Louisiana,” Aldridge could get up to “10 years imprisonment, possibly with hard labor.”

Nothing is going to happen to Aldridge, said the blog Crazy Days and Nights. He’s with Jamie Lynn Spears, “and everyone knows that the same law doesn’t apply to famous people.” The authorities would rather “go after some other poor guy who doesn’t have OK! and US Weekly in his speed dial.” It’s really frustrating: “If you are not going to enforce the laws equally, then just don’t have them.”

Aldridge does seem pretty shaken up about this, said Gordon Smart in the Sun. He “changed his status” on Myspace “to ‘Me and Jamie are over . . . and set his mood to ‘Blah.’” His age is also “posted as 17—two years younger than reported elsewhere.”

Well, so far “there has been no public talk of criminal prosecution in the case, said CNN.com. But it certainly “is casting new light on how states deal with the thorny issue of consensual sex among teens.”