Putting The Reader “child abuse” charges to bed. The age of consent throughout most of Europe, even today, is 15 or 16. Germany sets these standards:
In Germany, sexual intercourse is legal from the age of 14 in most cases. An exception is when the older partner is aged over 18 and is “exploiting a coercive situation” or offering compensation, in which case the younger partner must be over 16. In addition, it is illegal for someone aged over 21 to have sex with someone under 16 if they “exploit the victim’s lack of capacity for sexual self-determination”.
Does anybody seriously think Michael Berg lacked “sexual self-determination”? As Hannah, ahem, observed: “So. That’s why you came back.”
Like I said weeks ago, anybody who thinks The Reader involves pedophilia most likely never got laid in high school. Michael Berg was a 15-year-old young man born in Germany in 1943. He’s not the youngest Jonas Brother.