Mens rea and cognitive ability to consent/form intent is a very interesting subject, especially when it comes to minors. Society supersedes its judgement for the judgement of the minor where the minor is deemed not to have the sufficient mental capacity to consent to an action with full understanding of the consequences and context (sometimes only acquired through age or experience). It’s usually also only exercised as a means of protecting the minors (e.g., ability to consent to sexual acts with adults when underage). Criminal acts are slightly different though as it’s generally more about the individuals (minor or otherwise) capacity to form intent to actively harm/deprive/defraud/whatever in the context of what would be normal and reasonable for someone of like experience, knowledge, and circumstance. And even then, minors have a separate legal track in acknowledgement of their inability to fully grasp context and impact (see previous point about consent above) for all but most egregious and grievous acts.
