# Adult Woman Has Sex With Teen Boy, Charged With Statutory Sodomy - What Does That Mean?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 14, 2020, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947 "2020-02-14T19:26:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2020, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/1 "2020-02-14T19:26:34Z")
(Don’t need answer fast)
[Missouri woman charged with statutory sodomy for sex act with teenage boy](https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article240281086.html).
In this case, does that mean that he penetrated her anally? Or that she penetrated him (presumably with a strap-on or something)? Or does the law not specify?
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/2 "2020-02-14T19:28:16Z")
Could just be oral sex.
He he penetrated her anally.
Or, what you said.
> [@](#):
>
> Definition of sodomy
>
> : anal or oral copulation with a member of the same or opposite sex
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### Author:  [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/3 "2020-02-14T19:28:16Z")
Oral sex is usually included in “Sodomy”. My guess is she gave him a BJ.
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### Author:  [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/4 "2020-02-14T19:29:05Z")
From your link
“Giesler was accused of a having three sexual encounters with a 16-year-old boy, including performing a sex act on him and engaging in sexual intercourse twice in her home in Ste. Genevieve County, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.”
Sodomy, in this context, usually refers to oral sex.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/5 "2020-02-14T19:29:05Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#):
>
> (Don’t need answer fast)
>
> [Missouri woman charged with statutory sodomy for sex act with teenage boy](https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article240281086.html).
>
> In this case, does that mean that he penetrated her anally? Or that she penetrated him (presumably with a strap-on or something)? Or does the law not specify?
It depends on the state. Each state has specific legal definitions in their code. It could mean oral sex. Or in the case of the age difference being the factor and not consent it could be acts done to her.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/6 "2020-02-14T19:38:50Z")
According to Missouri law sodomy is deviate sexual intercourse which is defined as
> [@](#):
>
> Deviate sexual intercourse: any act involving the genitals of one person and the hand, mouth, tongue, or anus of another person or a sexual act involving the penetration, however slight, of the penis, female genitalia, or the anus by a finger, instrument or object done for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of any person or for the purpose of terrorizing the victim.
My state does not have a separate sodomy law. It’s either sexual assault (rape) or it’s not.
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### Author:  [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/7 "2020-02-14T19:41:04Z")
Missouri law on “statutory sodomy”:
> [@](#):
>
> 566.062. Statutory sodomy and attempt to commit, first degree, penalties. — 1. A person commits the offense of statutory sodomy in the first degree if he or she has deviate sexual intercourse with another person who is less than fourteen years of age.
Missouri legal definition of “deviate sexual intercourse”:
> [@](#):
>
> 566.010 (3). Deviate sexual intercourse: any act involving the genitals of one person and the hand, mouth, tongue, or anus of another person or a sexual act involving the penetration, however slight, of the penis, female genitalia, or the anus by a finger, instrument or object done for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of any person or for the purpose of terrorizing the victim.
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### Author:  [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/8 "2020-02-14T19:54:20Z")
So Missouri has outlawed foreplay as deviate sexual intercourse.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2020, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/9 "2020-02-14T20:00:53Z")
> [@gazpacho](#):
>
> So Missouri has outlawed foreplay as deviate sexual intercourse.
Essentially, the entirety of “third base,” as well as any penetration other than PIV.
I wouldn’t be surprised if most old-school sodomy laws are like that.
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### Author:  [@Kovitlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kovitlac)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/10 "2020-02-14T21:10:04Z")
> [@gazpacho](#):
>
> So Missouri has outlawed foreplay as deviate sexual intercourse.
I mean, if you’re with a kid 14 and under, yeah.
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### Author:  [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/11 "2020-02-14T21:12:33Z")
> [@gazpacho](#):
>
> So Missouri has outlawed foreplay as deviate sexual intercourse.
No, Missouri hasn’t outlawed deviate sexual intercourse at all, except in specific circumstances. That section is just the definitions; “sexual intercourse” is defined a few paragraphs down.
The specific circumstances in which sexual intercourse (deviate or otherwise) is illegal are defined later in the chapter. For example, [RSMo 566.060](https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=566.060&bid=29397) criminalizes deviate sexual intercourse if the other party “is incapacitated, incapable of consent, or lacks the capacity to consent” or is forcibly compelled.
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### Author:  [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2020, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/12 "2020-02-15T21:16:16Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> According to Missouri law sodomy is deviate sexual intercourse […]
This is such a weird usage of the word “deviate.” I think of that word as a verb, but here it’s clearly being used in the MO statutes as an adjective. I’d expect the verb to be “deviant” rather than “deviate.”
I’m aware that legal terms often deviate from both colloquial and formal English (in non legal contexts) with terms like “monies” and “ejectment.”
I’m curious: is “deviate” as an adjectival form of “deviate” an example of legal jargon or simply a usage error by some Missouri legislator that became enshrined as law? Or is there some other explanation?
(If it’s legal jargon, I’d imagine one of he attorneys on the board could answer off the top of their head. But I’m definitely not trying to hijack the thread or ask anyone to take on a research project).
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### Author:  [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/13 "2020-02-15T21:27:39Z")
Missed the edit window. The second sentence in my post should read:
I’d expect the _adjective_ to be “deviant” rather than “deviate.”
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### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2020, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/14 "2020-02-15T21:29:04Z")
> [@EdelweissPirate](#):
>
> This is such a weird usage of the word “deviate.” I think of that word as a verb, but here it’s clearly being used in the MO statutes as an adjective. I’d expect the verb to be “deviant” rather than “deviate.”
[Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) says it can be used as an adjective, and even a noun:
> [@](#):
>
> adjective
> characterized by deviation or departure from an accepted norm or standard, as of behavior.
>
> noun
> a person or thing that departs from the accepted norm or standard.
> a person whose sexual behavior departs from the norm in a way that is considered socially or morally unacceptable.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/15 "2020-02-15T21:55:03Z")
If the boy in question is 16 years old, how do the Missouri statutory sodomy laws (which apply to a child under 14) apply? Or does that just mean that he’s 16 now, but the acts occurred several years ago? If so, the writing is sloppy: If the story hadn’t come out until four years from now, nobody would say that she was accused of “sex acts with a 20-year-old”.
For an example of “deviate” used as a noun, by the way, a table of random numbers will often also include a table of “normal deviates”.
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### Author:  [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/16 "2020-02-15T21:55:58Z")
> [@slash2k](#):
>
> No, Missouri hasn’t outlawed deviate sexual intercourse at all, except in specific circumstances. That section is just the definitions; “sexual intercourse” is defined a few paragraphs down.
>
> The specific circumstances in which sexual intercourse (deviate or otherwise) is illegal are defined later in the chapter. For example, [RSMo 566.060](https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=566.060&bid=29397) criminalizes deviate sexual intercourse if the other party “is incapacitated, incapable of consent, or lacks the capacity to consent” or is forcibly compelled.
Missouri did criminalize any act of “deviate sexual intercourse” by same-sex couples until 2006 ([just a Wikipedia cite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Missouri#Law_regarding_same-sex_sexual_activity)). I don’t know for sure, but based on the wording of the statute, Missouri _may_ have originally criminalized “deviate sexual intercourse” generally, then later decided to restrict that criminalization to same-sex couples only, before finally (in the wake of _Lawrence v. Texas_) re-writing its laws to comply with U.S. Supreme Court precedent. (Which not all states have done; my own home state of [Georgia](http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/Default.asp) still has a law “on the books” but unenforceable–Georgia Code 16-2-2 (a) (1)–which purports to criminalize “sodomy”, defined as “any sexual act involving the sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another”).
**EdelweissPirate:** “Deviate” as opposed to “deviant” does seem wrong to me, too, but it seems to be used in various states ([Pennsylvania](https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=18&div=0&chpt=31&sctn=1&subsctn=0); [Texas](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.21.htm)). But on the other hand, [Oregon](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors163.html), to give one example, apparently uses “deviant”.
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### Author:  [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/17 "2020-02-15T22:03:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> If the boy in question is 16 years old, how do the Missouri statutory sodomy laws (which apply to a child under 14) apply?
If the boy in question was 16 (and the other person was at least 21), then the offense allegedly committed would be [statutory sodomy in the second degree (566.064)](https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=566.064&bid=29403&hl=):
> [@](#):
>
> A person commits the offense of statutory sodomy in the second degree if being twenty-one years of age or older, he or she has deviate sexual intercourse with another person who is less than seventeen years of age.
Whereas if the boy was under fourteen, it would be [statutory sodomy in the first degree (566.062)](https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=566.062&bid=29401&hl=).
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/18 "2020-02-15T22:39:05Z")
> [@gazpacho](#):
>
> So Missouri has outlawed foreplay as deviate sexual intercourse.
It seems to me that this post (if not the OP) and the following replies are equally “about” if and why when beyond oral sex, actual intercourses took place, that with an adult man and juvenile girl the word/crime/charge of “rape” would be used, and is not here.
I believe, but do not know, if oral sex on a woman (and/or the crime of consensual sex with a minor) without vaginal or anal penetration is a different act (even if in sentencing it is on a par with rape.
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### Author:  [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/19 "2020-02-16T00:35:02Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#):
>
> Missouri did criminalize any act of “deviate sexual intercourse” by same-sex couples until 2006 ([just a Wikipedia cite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Missouri#Law_regarding_same-sex_sexual_activity)). I don’t know for sure, but based on the wording of the statute, Missouri _may_ have originally criminalized “deviate sexual intercourse” generally, then later decided to restrict that criminalization to same-sex couples only, before finally (in the wake of _Lawrence v. Texas_) re-writing its laws to comply with U.S. Supreme Court precedent. (Which not all states have done; my own home state of [Georgia](http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/Default.asp) still has a law “on the books” but unenforceable–Georgia Code 16-2-2 (a) (1)–which purports to criminalize “sodomy”, defined as “any sexual act involving the sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another”).
> **EdelweissPirate:** “Deviate” as opposed to “deviant” does seem wrong to me, too, but it seems to be used in various states ([Pennsylvania](https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=18&div=0&chpt=31&sctn=1&subsctn=0); [Texas](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.21.htm)). But on the other hand, [Oregon](https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors163.html), to give one example, apparently uses “deviant”.
Correct. Those laws, in one form or another, have been on the books since the founding and in ye olde common law and were used to make homosexuality illegal.
All Lawrence did was hold that they could not be enforced against consenting adults acting in private in a non-commercial way. Nothing says that they cannot be enforced when done with minors or when it is non-consensual or in an act of prostitution.
And yes, it is “deviate” as in it deviates or is different from normal sexual intercourse.
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### Author:  [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-woman-has-sex-with-teen-boy-charged-with-statutory-sodomy-what-does-that-mean/847947/20 "2020-02-16T00:41:21Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#):
>
> I believe, but do not know, if oral sex on a woman (and/or the crime of consensual sex with a minor) without vaginal or anal penetration is a different act (even if in sentencing it is on a par with rape.
Well, in my state at least, oral sex on a woman is considered penetration as a person’s tongue penetrates the vagina.
My state has no crime of “rape.” There is sexual assault and sexual abuse and varying degrees of each. Sexual assault is all forms of penetration, “however slight.”
Sexual abuse is the touching of specified areas of the body (including female breasts, but not male breasts) “with the intent to gratify or arouse the sexual desire of any person.”
The degrees of the crime are whether it was forcible, done when incapacitated, done with minors.
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