Just Sexteen
Friday, July 24th, 2009I rolled out of bed this morning and stumbled into the living room only to find my roommate in a panic. He was stuffing an overnight bag full of clothes in a frenzy, a wild look in his eye. On the counter were a couple stacks of crisp one dollar bills.
“What’s the rush?” I prodded. By the look on his face one might have thought a close family member had passed away or the hammer of justice was closing down on him; he was as red as an Irishman, sweat pouring from his brow.
“I’m going to Rhode Island for the weekend man,” he said nonchalantly.
I shrugged my shoulders and grabbed a glass of orange juice from the kitchen. The front door slammed shut, minutes later I saw him scurry across the street from my bedroom window. He got in a red mini-van that was packed to the hilt with males of a similar age and caliber. The driver honked the horn and the Dodge Caravan peeled out onto the busy avenue.
Weird.
Then I checked out news headlines and found this article. It all makes sense now…
PROVIDENCE, R.I., July 21 — Rhode Island police looking for a 16-year-old runaway say they were shocked to discover no laws barring underage girls from performing at strip clubs.
With no state laws or Providence city ordinances specifically barring minors from such activities, police say they couldn’t stop minors from stripping for money even if they witnessed such a performance in person, the Providence (R.I.) Journal reported Tuesday.
“I’ve been doing this a long time,” said youth services Sgt. Carl Weston
, “and I can’t find anything that says it’s illegal for a 16-year-old or a 17-year-old to take her top off and dance.”
The discovery of the situation has sparked worries that teenage strippers could easily move from dancing into prostitution, which is also currently legal in the state. Venues with city liquor licenses are required to keep the teenagers from drinking, but not off the stage, the Journal reported.
“You can’t serve alcohol if you’re under 18,” Weston told the newspaper, “but you can be the target of a man’s groping hands at age 16.”
