State law states (saying nothing) that minors between the ages of 13 and 15 can generally have consensual sex with someone under the age of four who is older. Therefore, for example, it is legal for a 14-year-old man or woman to have consensual sex with a person until the age of 18. In Utah, the minimum age for consenting to sexual behavior is 18. (All age groups mentioned are “at the time of action.”) Under the Romeo and Juliet exception, it is legal for minors aged 16 and 17 to engage in consensual sexual acts with partners under the age of 7 and up to 10 years older if the eldest did not know the age of the minor. [88] The Protect Act § 503 of 1992 (codified in 18 U.S.C. §§ 2251 through 18 U.S.C. § 2260) makes it a federal offense to possess or create sexually explicit images of persons under the age of 18; This creates a national age of consent of 18 for pornography. [119] Thus, while some conduct covered by the law is highly culpable, these penalties apply even if consensual sexual relations between a person under the age of eighteen and a person over the age of eighteen are perfectly legal under state law. Non-commercial possession of an explicit image or video clip of a person under the age of eighteen (e.g., a cell phone photo of a nude sexual partner under the age of eighteen or a photo of the photographer if the person is under the age of 18) may still constitute a serious federal crime of child pornography. [120] The verdict for a first-time offender convicted of producing child pornography after 18 U.S.C.
Section 2251 (p. e.g. taking an obscene photo on a mobile phone of an otherwise legal sexual partner under the age of eighteen without intent to share or sell the image) are punishable by fines and a legal minimum of 15 years to a maximum of 30 years in prison. [121] [122] While the mandatory minimum offences do not apply to the mere possession of child pornography, it is almost always the case that a person in possession of child pornography is necessarily charged with receiving child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, or with producing child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years. is guilty. [123] The age of consent in Delaware is 18, but it is legal for teens ages 16 and 17 to have sex as long as the oldest partner is under 30. These state laws are discussed in detail below. Most of these state laws refer to legal rape by using names other than “lawful rape.” [128] These laws may refer to: “carnal relations of a minor,” “child abuse,” “corruption of a minor,” “sexual misconduct,” or “unlawful carnal intercourse.” [110] The laws of Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina,[129] Mississippi, and Tennessee explicitly refer to “lawful rape,” with each state defining it differently. Nevada criminalizes “legal sexual seduction,” while Pennsylvania criminalizes “lawful sexual assault.” [58] An increasing number of countries have specific extraterritorial legislation that prosecutes their citizens in their home countries if they engage in unlawful sexual acts with children in a foreign country. In 2008, ECPAT reported that 44 countries had extraterritorial laws on child sexuality.
[40] For example, the PROTECT Act of 2003, a U.S. federal law that prohibits its citizens` sexual activity with strangers or with U.S. citizens. Citizens of another state if the partner is under the age of 18 and the activity is illegal under federal, state, or local law. This applies in cases where one of the partners is traveling to or from the United States or from one state to another for the purpose of an illegal sexual relationship. [41] [42] In December 2011, the Pennsylvania legislature passed an amendment stating that a school employee who has sexual relations with a student or sports player under the age of 18 may receive a third-degree criminal complaint. In 2014, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett signed an amendment that would apply to athletic coaches who work outside of an educational setting. In the past, Pennsylvania prosecutors were only allowed to charge offenses such as bribing minors against teachers and coaches who had sex with 16- and 17-year-old students. [78] In addition to charges of corruption of minors, Pennsylvania prosecutors have also filed child endangerment charges against teachers who had sex with 16- and 17-year-old students. [195] The concept of age of consent rarely appears in legislation. [1] [page needed] Instead, a law will set the age at which it is illegal to engage in sexual activity with that person. It has sometimes been used with other meanings, such as the age at which a person becomes capable of consenting to marriage,[2] but the meaning given above is one that is now commonly understood.
It should not be confused with other laws regarding minimum age, including, but not limited to, age of majority, age of criminal responsibility, voting age, minimum drinking age, and driving age. The laws were designed to prosecute people who are much older than the victims, rather than teenagers who are older; As a result, prosecutors rarely prosecuted teens in relationships with other teens, though the wording of the laws made some teen-to-teen relationships illegal. After Landry and Forrest`s 1995 study concluded that men aged 20 and older produced half of the teenage pregnancies of girls aged 15 to 17, states began enforcing age of consent laws more strictly to combat teenage pregnancy and prevent adults from taking advantage of minors. [110] Paragraph 254. Sexual abuse of minors 1. A person is guilty of sexual abuse of a minor if: A. The person performs a sexual act with another person, not with the actor`s spouse, who is 14 or 15 years old and the actor is at least 5 years older than the other person. In California, attempted robbery occurs when someone intends to use force or fear to take someone`s property and then performs an act to promote the theft. It is a violent crime punishable by 3 years in prison. However, there are strong legal defenses that a criminal defense attorney can use.
Section 120b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (10 U.S.C. § 920b), which is essentially subject only to members of the United States Armed Forces and enemy prisoners of war, sets the age of consent at sixteen, but allows an exception for persons married to minors between the ages of 12 and 15. There is also a defence of age error if the minor is over 12 years of age, but not if the minor is under 12 years of age. In the United States, U.S. military personnel remain subject to local state law when they are not on duty. Local state law is largely incorporated into federal law when in office under the Assimilative Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. § 13). According to the respective agreement on the status of the armed forces, U.S. soldiers are also subject to the host country`s local criminal laws for acts committed outside the post.