A 71-year-old woman has married a 17-year-old toyboy just three weeks after meeting him at her son’s funeral.When grieving pensioner Almeda Errell went to pay her last respects at her son’s funeral, the last thing she expected to find was love. From a developmental standpoint, minors are still forming identity, emotional regulation, and social understanding. This makes relationships with adults particularly risky.
The prefrontal cortex—which governs judgment, impulse control, and long-term planning—does not fully mature until the mid-20s. This scientifically undermines arguments that minors are fully capable of consenting to relationships with significantly older adults. These tactics exploit developmental vulnerabilities and create dependency. These emotional strains can have lasting psychological effects, even long after the relationship ends.
