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	Mr K Knew I Was 13 When We Had Sex' By Conor Ryan One in Four April 27, 2008 http://www.oneinfour.org/news/news2008/mrk/ The woman at the centre of the landmark mistaken-age sex case has said the man cleared of sexually assaulting her knew she was 13 at the time. Speaking after the 27-year-old man, referred to as Mr K, became the first person in the state to successfully use the legal defence of honest mistake, the woman said both of them knew there was a seven-year age gap. Yesterday, the verdict reignited the two-year-old controversy surrounding statutory rape laws and prompted Justice Minister Brian Lenihan to say if the constitution was an obstacle to reform it had to be changed. His comments came after the woman, now aged 20, said the day before she and Mr K had sex in October 2001 both were part of a group that discussed her age: "I was 13. I was just three months gone from being 12. Mr K had seen me in my school uniform, he knew how old I was because we all discussed it the day before. I looked maybe 14 or 15, but he knew." On Wednesday, a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court found Mr K not guilty of sexually assaulting the then 13-year-old girl at Howth Head on October 18, 2001. He became the first man successfully to use the "honest mistake" defence and told the court he thought she was "aged 17 or 18". Mr K used the clause that was introduced after the 1935 law prohibiting sex with underage girls sensationally collapsed in the Supreme Court in May 2006. He was facing a charge of unlawful carnal knowledge, but this was dropped and replaced with one of sexual assault. However, speaking on radio, the north Dublin woman was adamant that, while she drank almost a half pint of vodka throughout the day in question, Mr K could not have thought she was an adult. "The garda took the clothes I was wearing. My jumper was aged 13-14 and was a blue Ellesse sports jumper. I had white Champion sports tracksuit trousers and ankle socks. [The trousers] would be three-quarters length on me now. Those aren't the clothes of a 20-year-old," she said. During the trial, the woman agreed she consented to having sex. But after the jury returned its verdict she admitted feeling punished for being so honest. "If I wanted to lie to protect myself from mommy and daddy and everybody else, I could have made a rape allegation, but I did not make a rape allegation. I told the truth and I was as honest as I possibly could. But the fact is Mr K knew how old I was," she said. Yesterday, the verdict provoked outrage from children's rights groups, victims's advocates and opposition politicians representing Fine Gael and Labour. The Irish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children said the Government had to speed up legislation to replace the emergency law passed during the 2006 constitutional crisis. "The welfare of the child must be the priority in all advances that are made in child protection," it said Speaking in Templemore the Justice Minister said if the Oireachtas committee on constitutional reform recommended change, this would be done. He added the honest mistake defence should be limited.
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