ZPG the Zealot has a thread running at the minute about what to do when teenagers fuck. I have no intention of reading past the first page of that thread, DNFTT and all that, but I do have a question.
Frank asked “Please cite that it is statutory rape for two sixteen-year-olds to have sex where you live.”
Although this cite showed the ages of consent, I dont believe it explains what the case is where both parties are below the age of consent.
So when attorneys are consulted over two 16 year olds having sex, as in Zealots example, will they both be charged with rape? The male only? Neither of them?
Many states have what are called “Romeo and Juliet Laws” to protect teenagers from being prosecuted for having sex with each other.
And even in states without such laws, unless a prosecutor has a wild hair up his butt (e.g., he’s running for re-election and doesn’t want to appear soft on crime), a teenager isn’t going to be prosecuted for consensual sex with another teenager.
HOWEVER, if there are nude pictures involved in the relationship, child pornography laws may come into play.
typically R&J laws apply if one of the two is over the age of consent (but not enough) - they aren’t really applicable if both are under the age of consent.
OP: most of the sex statutes are predicated on the perpetrator being over the age of consent.
The linked Wiki article on R&J laws claims that they may apply when both are underage, or when only one is. It also claims that in California, two underagers would both be prosecuted for a misdemeanor version of statutory rape.
It also goes on to state that depending on jurisdiction, it may not actually legalize the act, but only reduce charges or penalties.
I don’t know that California has convicted anyone of this, or has taken the point to the Supreme Court - it just seems like a badly written statute. Examining the statutes from such a liberal state like Alabama - they require the perp. to be a major.