Many people get confused about what is a pedophile. A pedophile is someone who is attracted to pre-pubescent children. A man being attracted to a 15 or 16 year old may be a 'pervert' or "dirty old man" as defined by society, but that doesn't make him a "pedophile." It is, of course, illegal in most states to have any sexual contact with a minor, defined as a person under the age of consent (18 yrs old in most states).
Why would a man be attracted to a young female of age 15 or 16? Unfortunately this is where biology comes in. We humans only used to live to age 30 at most, and many times humans died before reaching age 30. We're talking thousands of years ago. The urge to procreate to perpetuate the human species is ingrained in our DNA and our DNA hasn't changed in the last umpteem thousands of years. What's changed is life spans and societal norms and rules. Young men and young women are, generally speaking, more fertile and that is why there is a biological attraction to young adults. In pure biological terms, an adult is someone who is able to procreate.
Now, before anyone gets their panties in a twist and writes a scathing missive, it's not an excuse or a defense; attraction has a basis in evolution and biology and hence the "why." Let me repeat, it's not an excuse or defense, please don't mistake it as such.
Sources: "The Naked Ape" by Desmond Morris; Helen Fisher, Anthropologist and author of many books; my college anthropology class
