He’s 32, she’s 15: That’s rape in N.J.

The sex that a 15-year-old girl told police she had with a 32-year-old maintenance worker for the Garfield Housing Authority qualifies as rape in New Jersey — which is why he is being held on $100,000 bail at the Bergen County Jail.

Jerry DeMarco

10/05/2010 9:51 p.m.

Michael T. Mager

Michael T. Mager of 316 Cane Street in Teaneck is formally charged with sexual assault and endangerment. The penalties the single taxpayer-paid laborer faces are severe — including likely prison time — if pleads guilty or is convicted after a trial,

Statutory rape is a crime that occurs in New Jersey when one of the partners is between 13 and 16 and the other is at least four years older. Those adults who claim “she looked 18″ — or said the victim showed a fake ID — have no defense. An adult also can’t claim that he or she was seduced. Consent doesn’t matter. Supervisory authority also makes the acts criminal. READ MORE: It’s still rape

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