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However, if the offender is 17 years old or younger, has a clean record, and such sexual activity was consensual, Youthful Offender status a pre-trial diversionary program that seals the court record and results in a dismissal of charges may be granted. Previously the Connecticut age gap was two years, not three. By there had been a proposal to increase the gap to four years to reduce the number of close-in-age statutory rape cases being prosecuted, but three years was selected as a compromise.
Connecticut also recognizes that minors under 13 are released from criminal liability as to consensual sexual activity if and only if there is less than a 2-year age difference.
Consensual between minors sexual intercourse over the 2-year age difference where the minor is under 13 years old would subject the older minor to a charge of Sexual Assault, 1st Degree, in violation of C. A guilty verdict would result in conviction of a Class A felony sex offense , with a mandatory minimum of 5—10 years and maximum 25 years imprisonment.
However, the offender would have the same chance to apply for Youthful Offender status see Sexual Assault, 2nd Degree above provided the criteria are met.
A juvenile offender 13 years old and younger would be charged as a "serious juvenile offender" under C. Because the charge is a sex offense, the juvenile prosecutor can request that the proceeding designated a "serious sexual offender prosecution". Unless the juvenile waives the right to a trial by jury , the case proceeds to the regular criminal docket of the Superior Court, where the juvenile must face trial as an adult. If the juvenile agrees to the waiver, the case will proceed through the juvenile system with a bench trial. The age of consent in Delaware is 18, but it is legal for teenagers aged 16 and 17 to engage in sexual intercourse as long as the older partner is younger than Definitions generally applicable to sexual offences.
Children who have not yet reached their twelfth birthday are deemed unable to consent to a sexual act under any circumstances.
By there had been civil court rulings in California stating that minors under 18 may consent to sexual activity, even though the age of consent is 18 under state criminal law. The age of consent in Pennsylvania for sex is On June 26, , both heterosexual and homosexual sodomy became legal between non-commercial, consenting adults in a private bedroom in all U. Agriculture commissioners Attorneys general Capitals Capitol buildings Comparison Counties Alphabetical List State legislators Governors Lieutenant governors Legislatures Libraries and archives Official languages Poets laureate Political divisions State auditors State secretaries of state State speakers State superintendents of education State supreme courts State treasurers Statewide elected executive officials. Statutory sodomy, second degree, penalty. In some places, civil and criminal laws within the same state conflict with each other.
Rape in the fourth degree; class C felony. The age of consent in Florida is 18, [38] but close-in-age exemptions exist.
Pennsylvania statutory rape law is violated the de-facto age of consent law in Pennsylvania is actually 18 (due to Pennsylvania's corruption of minors statute). Age and experience create a power imbalance that makes it impossible for the In Pennsylvania: It is considered a felony statutory sexual assault when.
By law, the exception permits a person 23 years of age or younger to engage in legal sexual activity with a minor aged 16 or As used in this section, "sexual activity" means oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another; however, sexual activity does not include an act done for a bona fide medical purpose Florida code, Title XLVI, Chapter A new law passed in stated that people convicted of statutory rape may be removed from the sex offender list if they were no more than four years older than their victims, had only the statutory rape offense on their records, and had victims aged 14— The age of consent in Georgia is 16 and there is no close-in-age exception , though the offenses are a misdemeanor rather than a felony in cases where the perpetrator is less than 19 years of age and is no more than 4 years older than the victim.
The crime of " statutory rape " makes it illegal for a perpetrator of any age to have sexual intercourse with someone under the age of 16 that they are not married to. This offense carries a minimum sentence of 1 year in prison, and a maximum of 20 years. If the offender is 21 years of age or older, the minimum is raised to 10 years in prison, and the offender is subject to sex offender sentencing guidelines.
The crime " child molestation " makes it illegal for anyone to engage in "any immoral or indecent act to or in the presence of or with any child under the age of 16 years with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of either the child or the person", as well as electronically transmit any depiction of such an act. For repeat offenders, the minimum 10 years and the maximum is life imprisonment. This crime has the same close-in-age exception as statutory rape stated above if the victim is 14 or 15 years old and the actor is 18 or younger and within 4 years of age.
A third applicable crime is " aggravated child molestation ", which is any act of the previously mentioned child molestation that causes injuries to the victim, or involves an act of "sodomy" defined under state law as any act of oral sex or anal sex. However, if the victim is 13, 14 or 15 years old, the actor is 18 or younger and within 4 years of age, and the act committed was "sodomy" and did not cause injury, the crime is reduced to a misdemeanor.
This exception was added after a landmark case, Wilson v. State of Georgia occurred in and caused lawmakers to think the statute should have a close-in-age exception. At the time because of the words of the law, a year-old boy was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a year-old girl. Georgia was notoriously resistant to raising its age of consent in the Progressive Era.
In , the Georgia Supreme Court reversed the conviction of a man convicted of raping a year-old girl because the age of consent in Georgia was 10 at the time. Nonetheless, the Court recommended raising the Georgia age of consent, saying "the age of consent in many States is higher than in this State, and should be made higher here; and a committee of ladies" is petitioning to do that. As it turned out, Georgia's age of consent would remain at 10 until , and even then it was only raised to The age of consent in Hawaii is There is however a close-in-age exemption, which allows those aged 14 and 15 to consent to sex with those less than five years older.
Previously the age of consent was 14, the lowest in the United States. Avery Chumbley , a member of the Hawaiian Senate , had made efforts to raise the age of consent. The age of consent in Illinois is 17, and rises to 18 with someone who has a position of authority or trust over the victim. There is no close-in-age exception, crossing the age boundary is Criminal Sexual Assault. Any sexual contact between minors the age of 9 and 16 is Criminal sexual abuse. Although Illinois' minimum marriage age with parental consent or court order is 16, [62] there is no statutory exception to the age of sexual consent.
Bill was introduced in to decriminalize sexual relationships between children 13—16 years old and those fewer than five years older, but the bill failed to pass. In a bill was proposed that would allow people who violated the age of consent laws and were close in age with their victims to petition a judge to be removed from the sex offender registry.
Republican state representative Dennis Reboletti of Elmhurst stated that he did not believe judges should be able to reverse decisions made by prosecutors.
The age of consent in Indiana is The law allows the actor a defense to prosecution if the victim is currently or was previously married the absolute minimum marriageable age in Indiana is 15 , although this defense does not apply in the case of violence, threats or drugs. This is not a close-in-age exception though, but merely a defense in court. The law also allows a mistake of age defense if the actor reasonably believed the victim was 16 or older.
The age limit rises to 18, according to IC, if the actor is an adult who is the guardian, adoptive parent, adoptive grandparent, custodian, or stepparent of the minor; or a child care worker for the minor; or a military recruiter who is attempting to enlist over the minor. Any person who engages in sexual intercourse with a child under 14 years of age commits a Class B felony, under IC Child molesting. Under certain aggravating circumstances, the crime becomes a Class A felony. The age of consent in Iowa is 16, with a close-in-age exemption for those aged 14 and 15, who may engage in sexual acts with partners less than 4 years older.
A person commits sexual abuse in the third degree when the person performs a sex act under any of the following circumstances The age of consent in Kansas is Aggravated indecent liberties with a child is sexual intercourse with a child who is 14 or more years of age but less than 16 years of age. As per State v. Limon the previous Kansas age of consent law, which did not apply to homosexuals, was struck down by the Kansas Supreme Court due to 's Lawrence v.
The age of consent in Kentucky is Consensual sex with persons at least age 16 but not yet 18 is permitted only if the actor is less than 10 years older than the younger party. In addition to the basic law regarding consent, the KRS has additional consent laws covering a variety of other situations:.
Felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile is committed when: The age of consent in Maine is Teenagers aged 14 and 15 may engage in sexual intercourse with partners who are less than 5 years older. Sexual abuse of minors 1. A person is guilty of sexual abuse of a minor if: The person engages in a sexual act with another person, not the actor's spouse, who is either 14 or 15 years of age and the actor is at least 5 years older than the other person. The age of consent in Maryland is The age of consent in Massachusetts is Section 35A of Chapter states: However, Chapter , Section 4 sets another age of consent at 18 when the "victim" is "of chaste life" and the perpetrator induces them.
The age of consent in Michigan is 16 and there is no close-in-age exception, unless one is an authority figure in which case the age of consent is In March the Michigan Senate passed a bill which was to prohibit sexual relations between students of any age and teachers. If the actor is in a position of authority, the age of consent is If the younger party is under the age of 13, the older party must be no more than 36 months older.
If the younger party is 13, 14 or 15, the other person must be no more than 48 months older. The specifics of these laws are covered under Sections The age of consent in Mississippi is Statutory rape; enhanced penalty for forcible sexual intercourse or statutory rape by administering certain substances. Mistake as to the age of the victim may be a defense in some circumstances as defined in RSMo The distinction among those crimes has led some to the false conclusion that Missouri has a close-in-age exception. Missouri has no such exception beyond the degree of crime committed.
While the statutory titles are cast in terms of Rape and Sodomy, the statutes prohibit conduct that is described as "sexual intercourse" and "deviant sexual intercourse". Statutory rape, second degree, penalty. A person commits the crime of statutory rape in the second degree if being twenty-one years of age or older, he has sexual intercourse with another person who is less than seventeen years of age.
Statutory sodomy, second degree, penalty. A person commits the crime of statutory sodomy in the second degree if being twenty-one years of age or older, he has deviate sexual intercourse with another person who is less than seventeen years of age. Child molestation, second degree, penalties.
A person commits the crime of child molestation in the second degree if he or she subjects another person who is less than seventeen years of age to sexual contact. The age of consent in Montana is The age of consent in Nebraska is In addition Nebraska has a law prohibiting "lewdly inducing" a person under 17 to "carnally know" any other person.
Sexual assault; first degree; penalty.