Legally speaking I hope he is charged with whatever crimes he committed and I hope people forever see him as the creepy old guy he is but, just because the term is statutory "rape" doesn't mean we have to pretend 17 year old girls are 100% innocent even if legally speaking they are.
Traci Lords remains the ur-example of how statutory rape laws can be abused. She, at 16 years old, secured (deliberately, on her own accord) fake documents (ID and birth certificate, if memory serves) and intentionally pursued a career in the pornography industry using that fake documentation to "prove" she was 18. She willingly performed in dozens of scenes and allowed the distribution of those films knowing she was actively deceiving the actors, producers, directors and crews.
When she was found out, the industry immediately severed ties with her, but prosecutors went after everybody (with the notable exception of Lords herself) for statutory rape anyway. The people being prosecuted
did their due diligence to ensure she was of legal age by reviewing (and undoubtedly copying) those documents. But they were still prosecuted anyway.
Also of note is the fact that she never made any claims that she was pressured, forced, manipulated, or drugged into performing sex acts on camera. She never claimed she was raped or abused. She openly admitted she provided fake documents and performed willingly. The prosecutions continued despite this. She was never charged with any crime.
Thankfully everybody was acquitted (or charges eventually dropped), but it's a real shame Lords was able to successfully go from underage porn star to a modestly successful D-list actress in mainstream Hollywood despite nearly ruining the adult film industry single-handed with her deliberate actions. Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if she just used the casting couch to work her way into the industry.
ETA: I do not believe (and am not arguing) that this was the case with Ryan. "I didn't know she was 17" isn't a valid defense and as others have pointed out, people below the age of consent do not legally have consent to
give in the first place in the eyes of the law. I do believe "I asked for ID for proof of her age, and she presented ID that confirmed it but later turned out to be fake"
should be a legitimate defense (because that's just scummy for a teenager to do to an adult), but there's no indication at all that this happened here. It looks like Ryan either didn't ask or just straight up didn't care when he learned some of these girls were underage.