What is the law against dating a minor

The Age of Consent ranges state-by-state from 16 to 18 years old across the United States. Click the map to view any state's age of consent laws.

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Iowa has seven statutory sexual abuse charges on the books which are used to prosecute age of consent and child abuse related crimes within the state. One or more of these charges may be used to prosecute violations of the Iowa Age of Consent, as statutory rape or the Iowa equivalent of that charge. The severity of the criminal charge felony, misdemeanor, etc depends on the specifics of the acts committed and the relative ages of the perpetrator and victim. Click any charge for more detailed information.

However, some states have lower ages of consent under certain circumstances.

Statutory Rape Laws

For example, in Iowa a person may consent to sex at age 14 provided their partner is no more than 48 months older. Most statutory rape laws exist to punish an adult who takes sexual advantage of a minor, not to punish two people close in age who have consensual sex.


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This means an adult who is only a couple of years older than the minor may not be charged with statutory rape or be punished as harshly as a much older adult. These close-in-age exemption laws, sometimes known as Romeo and Juliet laws, may reduce the severity of the offense from a felony to a misdemeanor; reduce the penalty to a fine, probation or community service; and eliminate the requirement that the convicted adult register as a sex offender.

Though the law is clear, illegal teen dating a common mistake to make | Grand Forks Herald

Punishment depends on state law. For example, in New Jersey, the age of consent is 16, but individuals who are 13 or older may legally engage in sexual activity if their partner is less than four years older than they are.


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In California, it's a misdemeanor to have sex with someone younger than 18 if the offender is less than three years older, while someone more than three years older could be charged with a felony. Even for states with a single age of consent, there may be exceptions. In New Jersey, for example, the general age of consent is That is one, long-lasting possibility that can come back to haunt a young person for years, including not being able to live on a college campus, getting certain jobs and public shame.

Age of consent

Miller says he typically tries to avoid that, though, unless there is reason to think otherwise. One might think that tech-savvy teenagers would understand the gravity of sending nude or inappropriate photos of themselves to others, and yet investigators in Becker County say it happens all the time. For this, the age applicable is anybody under the age of 18 — no matter the age difference.

legal age for dating a minor in canada

Emotional damage aside, there are a lot of illegal things happening there, starting with the teenage girl. We just want to protect everybody involved. Paula Quam is the editor for Forum Communications Co.