All states have Romeo and Juliet laws, though the parameters in which a R&J defense can apply (against statutory sexual abuse claims) vary from state to state, sometimes from county to county.
Most typically, the younger participant has to be at least 15 years old, and the age difference has to be no more than five years. A fifteen year-old girl and her twenty-year-old boyfriend are probably safe from CSA charges. Probably.
Married couples are a common exception to this rule and are a common way religious groups side-step ages of consent. Some states regulate the ages one can wed, while others don’t or have exceptions.
Curiously, for most states, same-sex encounters are not protected by R&J laws, so two fifteen year old besties who get caught fooling around experimentally can both be charged if a DA is determined. Sometimes a DA is that determined to make an example of a teenage couple.
Sexual experimentation between a kid and their peers is developmentally normal, even if it’s illegal.
All states have Romeo and Juliet laws, though the parameters in which a R&J defense can apply (against statutory sexual abuse claims) vary from state to state, sometimes from county to county.
Most typically, the younger participant has to be at least 15 years old, and the age difference has to be no more than five years. A fifteen year-old girl and her twenty-year-old boyfriend are probably safe from CSA charges. Probably.
Married couples are a common exception to this rule and are a common way religious groups side-step ages of consent. Some states regulate the ages one can wed, while others don’t or have exceptions.
Curiously, for most states, same-sex encounters are not protected by R&J laws, so two fifteen year old besties who get caught fooling around experimentally can both be charged if a DA is determined. Sometimes a DA is that determined to make an example of a teenage couple.
Sexual experimentation between a kid and their peers is developmentally normal, even if it’s illegal.