Rape or bad judgment? Do you believe Elves' character at the end?

There is no "interpretation" - he sexually molested and raped his step-daughter since she was 12 years old, a 12 year old CHILD CANNOT seduce a MAN. She didn't tell her mom because she didn't want to hurt her. She told the doctor because she probably had to tell someone and didn't think he'd say anything to anyone.

Nothing to lose? He said it because there were no other witnesses and he knew it would hurt Lilly the most.

It's rape because as a minor, Rachel was incapable of knowing what she was doing; he was responsible for stopping anything she did, and for his actions as well. "She seduced me" isn't morally or legally a defense against statutory rape.

I really hope you are trolling. There is no way a 12 year old CAN seduce a grown man, and it's really sick to think so.

What the *beep* is the internet??

Plus, they have a scene with Rachel getting on bed with Simon. I think they are trying to show us that is what a moral adult would do in the situation when a minor "does" tries to seduce an adult.

...a little fantastic, and fleeting, and out of reach.

Is this a joke?

Regardless of who initiated it, it was statutory rape. And I highly doubt that the 12 year old was the initiator here. He said those things to displace blame:

"She seduced me" <--- blaming the victim

"What else did you expect when you were in your drunken stupor?" <--- blaming Lilly (really just rubbing salt in the wounds there)

Seriously, what rapist (which is what he is), says "Yeah, I'm guilt?". No, they always blame the victim.

He tried to make it seem like Rachel was just a bad kid, and thus it was her fault, but in reality it is MUCH more likely that the sexual abuse caused the behaviour. He started raping her at 12, she started acting out in 9th grade, which is about 14, around the same time her friend threatened Arnold.

Another issue here is when you say a real rape victim wouldn't look to profit. What you are missing is that this happened during a formative time in Rachel's life, and it, along with the issues with her mother, changed her. She is not reeling from a recent incident, she has had time to absorb this, and let it eat away at her, and likely think long and hard about what her revenge would be, if needed. He tried to pay her off with a car, and was going to try it again... it's not a far stretch to understand where she would get the idea to ask for money.

He absolutely, no question, raped her.

A child of twelve cannot consent to having sex with an adult even if the child says yes it would still be considered statuatory rape and it would not matter if she tried to profit from it or not.

She was a KID. She said she had a video from when she was FOURTEEN. That's rape no matter how you spin it. A 40 year old should not be attracted to someone 12-14.

Unbelievable. No wonder victims of child abuse are so often afraid to speak out.