Lawyer for Prof Accused of Incest: Daughter Is More Accomplice than Victim
The lawyer for a Columbia University professor accused of having sex with his adult daughter is questioning whether prosecuting incest is “intellectually consistent” with the Supreme Court case that struck down a ban on gay sodomy.
Matthew Galluzzo, the lawyer for the professor, David Epstein, told the Huffington Post that Lawrence v. Texas supports the idea that “what goes on between consenting adults in private should not be legislated.” In an interview with ABC News, Galluzzo said Epstein’s daughter had been treated by prosecutors as “somehow a victim here, when she can be best described as an accomplice.”
“It’s OK for homosexuals to do whatever they want in their own home,” he told ABC. “How is this so different? We have to figure out why some behavior is tolerated and some is not.”
Hofstra University family law professoror Joanna Grossman pointed out a difference in cases of adult incest. “I think these relationships are inherently coercive for the same reason that professors are not allowed to sleep with students in their classes,” she told ABC.
