with all the talk about the appropriateness of the laws, will the net result of all of this be that it's legal for me to bang 14 year olds?
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
Papa,
Take a quick vacation down to Puerto Rico. Apparently 14 is cool with them.
papa, you are really a class act! LOL! Bet you were a ball in high school.
not that i've got my eye on any freshman girls at any local high schools or anything, y'know, it's just good to know. sh*t, my handlers won't even let me look at anything under 21.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
If this turns out to be not true it will be horrible. Because regardless of the outcome, people will always wonder. This really is terrible all the way around. I feel bad for the girl (if it happened the way she said) , and I feel bad for James, because I think this type of thing can stick to you forever.
It really is a shame!
Updated On: 4/6/06 at 06:47 PM
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
this has been bothering me all day. i have met Jim a few times socially and he seemed so low key and even shy. he was sooo kind to me. when my mom's dog died he wrote her a letter saying how sorry he was and he really hardly even knows ME.. but doing that was so sweet of him. he just doesn't seem like the person being described here. i guess everyone has their secrets. this is so disturbing to me.
is this some crazed fan who is mad that he didn't return an email? there are crazy people out there. i had a "fan" threaten suicide if i did not call them on the phone!!! listen, i have friends who have endured sexual abuse and this is NOT a light matter. i know sometimes it takes people a long time to feel comfortable enough to step forward and talk about such things...
she went to his dressing room once..she says "he too advantage of her"....then SHE WENT BACK AGAIN!????! HELLO?! WHY would you go back if it wasn't something you were agreeing to do??!
IF it is true...i am thinking he did not know the true age of this girl. i mean really...i just can't imagine it.
and how can they arrest him?????? what is the proof? someone said it before..they are just going on her word???? come on!
i hope this all works out for him. i truly think he is so wonderful and talented. i hope that this is as true as Yanni slapping his girlfriend.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
This is what happens when you're a heterosexual.
I have to imagine that there is some kind of evidence if he has been arrested.
As far as the girl having "gone back for more", isn't it possible that as she got older and realized the power differential (to borrow Robbie's phrase), she also realized just how badly she had been used?
There's a lot we don't know. Just because he's a nice guy to his friends, doesn't mean he's innocent. And just because she may have been a hot little fan girl at age fifteen, doesn't mean it didn't cause psychological damage.
And in any case, to bang the drum one more time, if it happened at all, the age difference puts him on the wrong side of the law no matter what her motives.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
iflitifloat...you're 100% right..
in the end, he was the grown up and should have known better if it IS indeed all true. its heartbreaking, nonetheless...
=(
Broadway Star Joined: 9/8/04
Again, if these claims are TRUE, I just find it all to be sad...people who do great work turn out to be sickos. Like Jeffrey Jones (yes, I am a big huge dork but I loved him in "Amadeus"). He was an established character actor, a pretty good one, and then they busted him for kiddie porn. It's a shame.
This is very sad....I hope it is not true
Understudy Joined: 12/6/04
If he did do it - shame on him and nail his butt. If he didn't do it - shame on her.
Updated On: 4/8/06 at 10:39 PM
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
Actually, this sort of thing really does long-term damage when it's SAME SEX. I really can't picture it doing long-term damage to a musical theatre actor if he is acquited of having sex with an underage female.
Again, more cultural hypocricy.
*sigh* A misunderstanding to last generations.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/05
Namo: I could not agree more! Statuatory rape laws are usually just because the parent doesn't have the guts to punish the kid, so why not punish the other person? If you ask me, if they must be punished, it should be both. Why should the teenager, if it was consentual and especially REPEATED, get off scott-free? It takes two to tango.
When someone in a position of "power" takes advanatge of someone over whom he has power, it is a form of intimidation, and it is terribly self-serving. We hope that "adults" will think about the consequences of their actions before making moral choices. I don't know if these allegations are true, but it bothers me when people start "blaming the victim."
The arbitrary nature of the law from state to state is not the issue. As we all know, there are plenty of things that are "perfectly legal" according to the law, but are morally questionable.
If this does turn out to be true, I give the girl a lot of credit. It is extremely difficult to come forth about something like this. If it isn't true, then I will think it immoral of this girl to attempt to ruin someone's life in this way. From my experience, however, allegations like these are not made lightly and there must be substantial evidence to support them.
I deal with sexual abuse and assault everyday, and PLENTY of predators NEVER get arrested. (It is estimated that there are 4 times as many cases of sexual abuse than are actually reported. When the sexual abuse is against boys, it is estimated that there are up to 10 times more cases that go unreported because of the increased shame, embarrassment and stigma boys fear.)
It's all very, very sad.
What kind of evidence would they need to arrest Him?
Her word or a blue dress?
I am just now reading this and I am shocked. And it sounds like a big and meticulous investigation was done. This one is going to trial.
"Her word" is not enough to arrest someone.
And let's leave Bill Clinton out of this. The issues are not the same.
"Namo: I could not agree more! Statuatory rape laws are usually just because the parent doesn't have the guts to punish the kid, so why not punish the other person? If you ask me, if they must be punished, it should be both. Why should the teenager, if it was consentual and especially REPEATED, get off scott-free? It takes two to tango."
It takes two to tango? Not when one is not old enough to even go to a prom, and the other could be her father! Perhaps if you are talking about two teenagers, you might have a point. But, when you are talking about a middle-aged man and a 15 year old girl, I just shake my head in bewilderment.
If this was a teacher and a HS girl would you feel the same way? A priest and a child in his Parrish? Or, are all of these attacks because you happen to like the man accused of statutory rape?
Statutory rape laws are on the books because courts and legislatures have held that people under a certain age lack the capacity to completely understand what they are doing, and thus lack the capacity to consent to the act itself.
I don't know who did what. I don't know whether she is telling the truth. All I know is that this girl is not old enough to consent to entering into a contract, she cannot rent an apartment on her own, she cannot vote, she cannot drive on her own legally, there are many things she cannot do legally. Under the law, she is determined not to have the capacity to consent to having sex.
The response of many on this Board is one reason that people do not come forward when things like this happen.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
Exactly where does it "sound" like a "big, extensive investigation was done????"
Statuatory rape laws are usually just because the parent doesn't have the guts to punish the kid, so why not punish the other person?
I don't really agree with that. However, laws often exist to give the illusion of control over things that can be pretty anarchic, like human sexuality.
AND, another angle I would like to introduce is that people make bad decisions all the time. There are very few people who are all-bad all-the-time. There are people who make lapses in judgment and get away with it, and people who don't.
There are also people who do their time and still are hounded and never given a chance to redeem themselves. I recommend the Kevin Bacon movie The Woodsman for an examination of that.
Now, the seemingly harmless links on Mr. Barbour's website that are for Scientology front groups, well, THAT'S something worth totally freaking out about forever.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/19/05
Please don't let this be true! I feel so bad for him. He's an amazing singer.
"Exactly where does it "sound" like a "big, extensive investigation was done????" "
Tomorrows LA times.. which I have a early edition of in my hands.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/27/05
Guess we won't be seeing Mr. Barbour in ANNIE or THE SOUND OF MUSIC any time soon.
Liesl Von Trapp
Berchtesgaden, Germany
People do make bad decisions all the time, Namo, I agree. No one is 100% pure, nor should we judge. I just get a tad annoyed when people start saying things like "This girl is doing it for publicity" or "She wants money from him."
If we don't know the truth, then why judge either party here?
YWIW is right about people being discouraged to disclose though. Why do you think it has taken decades for the Catholic priest scandal to emerge? I know several men who, as boys, were sexually abused by priests but didn't dare speak about it.
I find it offensive when people want this guy to be "innocent" because they like the way he sings. I hope he's innocent because I wish things like this never happened, but guess what?
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