When the latest Jeffrey Epstein documents dropped and conservative commentator Megyn Kelly suggested Epstein might not be a “pedophile” because he “liked 15-year-old girls,” a lot of us felt physically sick. Survivors, former child actors, and teens flooded social media with photos of themselves at 15 under the hashtag #IWasFifteen, reminding the world: we were children.
At the same time, Epstein survivors who have been pushing for transparency about his network are reporting death threats as they demand full release of Department of Justice files. They are risking their safety to fight for truth, while people with massive platforms casually debate whether 15-year-olds “count” as children.
Let’s be crystal clear:
Under U.S. law, 15-year-olds are children. They cannot legally consent to sex with adults. Any adult who has sex with a 15-year-old is committing sexual abuse, statutory rape, or a related crime. Full stop.
This isn’t a matter of opinion or “social norms.” It’s written into our laws. This is not political. Anyone found to be complicit in those files must be held accountable. Period.
What the Law Actually Says: Age of Consent Across the United States
In the United States, every single state sets its age of consent between 16 and 18 years old. There is no state where 15 is a legal age of consent for sex with an adult.
Most states also have “close-in-age” or “Romeo and Juliet” exceptions so that teens near each other in age aren’t treated the same way as adult offenders, but those carve-outs do not legalize exploitation by adults decades older.
Age of Consent by State (Snapshot)
16 (30 states)
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia.
17 (7 states)
Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Texas, and Wyoming.
18 (13 states)
Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
So when someone with a microphone suggests that 15-year-old victims of Jeffrey Epstein were not “children,” they are erasing the most basic legal reality:
In every state, an adult having sex with a 15-year-old is breaking the law. It is child sexual abuse.
Even mainstream coverage of this controversy has had to underline this point: depending on the state, the age of consent is 16–18, and it is illegal in all 50 states for an adult to have sex with a 15-year-old.
Statutory Rape Laws: There Is No “Diet” Version of Abuse
“Statutory rape” is a term many of us grew up hearing, but state statutes often use different labels: sexual assault of a minor, sexual abuse, unlawful sexual contact, corruption of a minor, carnal knowledge, and more.
Despite the varied languages, the core principle is the same:
- A minor under the age of consent cannot legally say “yes” to sex with an adult.
- Consent is legally meaningless when a person is below that threshold.
- Many states add extra protections when:
- The older person is in a position of authority (teacher, coach, clergy, employer); or
- There is a large age gap or evidence of coercion, grooming, or exploitation.
So, when anyone tries to carve out 15-year-olds as somehow “different” as if they’re not really kids, they are softening the public’s understanding of statutory rape and child sexual abuse. That euphemistic phrase “barely legal” is not cute; it is a porn-industry marketing term meant to sexualize teenagers and blur legal and ethical lines.
There is no “diet pedophilia.” There is no “less bad” version of exploiting a teen.
Epstein, the Files, and What the Law Calls This Behavior
The Epstein case is not confusing. Or “murky.” It is not a morality play about “bad choices” or “wild teens.” It is about commercial sexual exploitation of minors, which is clearly defined and criminalized under federal law.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 1591, it is a federal crime to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, patronize or solicit a minor under 18 for a commercial sex act. When the victim is under 18, the law does not require proof of force, fraud, or coercion. The fact that they’re a minor is enough.
Federal law also criminalizes the sexual exploitation of children (including producing images or videos) under 18 U.S.C. § 2251 and related statutes.
So let’s connect the dots:
- Epstein was a convicted child sex offender who was later charged with sex trafficking minors.
- The survivors’ accounts describe recruitment of girls as young as 14–15, grooming, coercion, payments, and a network of powerful men using Epstein’s access to abuse them.
- Under both state statutory rape laws and federal trafficking laws, adults who engaged in sexual acts with these teens or who bought sex from them were not having “relationships.” They were committing crimes: rape, sexual assault of a minor, and child sex trafficking.
We still don’t have the full truth about every name in the Epstein orbit; the files are incomplete, heavily scrutinized, and politically loaded. But this much is absolutely clear:
If an adult flew on Epstein’s plane, went to his properties, and engaged in sexual acts with teens who were 14–17, that conduct is sexual abuse under the law whether or not a particular case was ever prosecuted.
That is not defamation. It is simply what our criminal code says those acts are.
Why Minimizing This Harm Is So Dangerous
Megyn Kelly’s comments have sparked widespread condemnation from survivors, advocates, and fellow commentators for a reason. She repeated that Epstein “liked 15-year-old girls,” described them as “barely legal,” and contrasted that with abusing younger children as if that somehow shifts how we should label his crimes.
Here’s why that framing is so damaging:
- It erases the reality of adolescent development.
Fifteen-year-olds are still deeply dependent, still developing judgment, and uniquely vulnerable to grooming, pressure, and coercion, especially from wealthy, powerful adults. - It feeds victim-blaming.
When we pretend there’s a meaningful “difference” because a child has “hit puberty,” we invite questions like: What was she wearing? Why did she go back? Why didn’t she run? This rhetoric surfaces every time survivors try to tell their stories. - It distorts the law in the public’s mind.
Listeners come away thinking there is some legal gray zone around teens, when in fact the law is remarkably clear: minors under the age of consent cannot legally say yes to adults. - It emboldens abusers and intimidates survivors.
Survivors of Epstein and of countless other powerful men are already being threatened as they demand full disclosure of what happened. The last thing they need is commentators talking like their abuse might not “really” count.
Honoring the Survivors Who Refuse to Be Silent
While some people split hairs about definitions, survivors are doing the hard work of telling the truth.
- Epstein survivors have come forward, again and again, to demand full release of files, to name enablers, and to insist on protection for victims. Many now report death threats and targeted harassment as a direct result of their advocacy.
- Former child actors like Melissa Gilbert and others have joined #IWasFifteen to show exactly what 15 looks like: a kid in braces, a kid on a family vacation, a kid forced into adult storylines for the comfort of grown men.
- Teens and young adults are flooding feeds with their own photos and stories, saying plainly: We were children. Consent was not given. What happened to us was abuse.
To every survivor still speaking out in this hostile climate:
You are not overreacting. You are not “too sensitive.” You are correcting the record that powerful people have twisted for far too long.
Your courage is not only about your individual case; it’s about rewriting a culture that has normalized adult sexual access to teen girls and boys.
This Truth Needs to Be Told Loudly, Repeatedly, and Without Apology
Here is the truth I want etched into our public conversation:
- 15-year-olds are children.
- There is no such thing as a “consensual” sexual relationship between a child and an adult.
- There is no legal or moral gray zone when wealthy, powerful adults pay for sex with minors. It is trafficking. It is rape. It is sexual assault.
When public figures muddy that truth, it is not just offensive—it is dangerous. Protects abusers. Confuses juries. Shames survivors. And trains the next generation to doubt their own experiences and to question whether the law will ever take them seriously.
We owe survivors better than that.
We owe them:
- Accurate language that calls abuse what it is.
- Full transparency about the Epstein network and anyone who used his access to harm children.
- Laws and enforcement that center on the safety, dignity, and healing of those who were abused as children, not the reputations of the adults who hurt them.
To everyone who has posted a photo with #IWasFifteen, testified in court, signed a letter, or whispered their story to a trusted friend: you are shifting the culture in ways that will protect kids you will never meet.
Keep telling the truth. The law is on your side. And so are we.