Jerry Lee Lewis and teen sex

Factual Questions
1

The southern rock singer Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13 year old cousin, Myra, in the late 1950’s. I think a year or two later they had a kid. I’ve always wondered, wasn’t this marriage against the law? In the USA, isn’t it illegal for teens to get married? Isn’t it illegal for an adult to have sex with a minor?

Were the laws less strict in the 1950’s? Are the laws less strict in the South?

Finally, if it is illegal for an adult to have sex with a minor, why can teens (minors) have sex with each other? It happens among high school students across America. For example, a 17 year old boy can have sex with his 16 year old girlfriend and it’s perfectly legal, right? However, the day he turns 18, does that mean legally he has to stop having sex with her? Does that make sense? For instance, why is it any worse for a teen age girl to get pregnant by an adult man than by a teen boy? It seems like having an adult be the father would be better, because he would be more likely to have a job that could support the girl and baby than a teen-age boy would.

2
      • In Illinois at least, I believe that technically it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to have sex with anybody else, no matter what the second’s age is. This law is often enforced at the discretion of the D.A. First of all you must remember that technically speaking, adults mix with minors alot (think 17 and 18 yr-olds), so this is much a matter of if anyone complains about the situation (such as parents, in the case of {unwanted} pregnancies). The larger the age difference, the more likely it is to be prosecuted. I also seem to remember that 12 yrs or younger is considered a “child” legally, and is therefore a different offense. - MC
3

Also if the parents give their OK then teens can get married at younger ages than 18, although what the youngest is I don’t know.

4

“Age of Consent” laws, the minimum age at which a person can legally get married, vary greatly from state to state, and most have provisions for parents’ consent, etc. I think a standard would be something along the lines of 18 to marry without parents’ consent, 16 to marry with it. My WAG is that this is the policy in my home state of Missouri.

I don’t know all the facts, but I think in some states you can get married as young as 13 with parents’ consent, which seems to be the case with Myra and Jerry Lee. The standard is most likely different now than it was in the 1950’s, and I’m sure it was (and is) different in the North and South. BTW, Jerry Lee and Myra had to go out of Louisiana and into, IIRC, Mississippi or Tennessee to get married, since she was too young in MS. Someone may want to check this out.

5

The age of consent varies from state to state.
Age of consent in every state
(as per one webpage)
Age 14: Hawaii, Pennsylvania
15: Colorado, South Carolina
16: Alabama, Connecticut, Deleware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakata, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming
17: Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Texas
18: Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Calif., Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Mississippi, North Dakata, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin

Ah, don’t you just love the internet? Here’s the age of consent in all 50 states from another webpage at the same site (they don’t jive).
Alabama…16
Alaska…16
Arizona…18
Arkansas…16
California…18
Colorado…16
Connecticut…16
D.C…16
Delaware…12
Florida…18
Georgia…14
Hawaii…16
Idaho…18
Illinois…16
Indiana…16
Iowa…14
Kansas…16
Kentucky…14 [1]
Louisiana…17
Maine…14
Maryland…16
Massachusetts…18
Michigan…16
Minnesota…16
Mississippi…18 [2]
Missouri…16
Montana…16
Nebraska…16
Nevada…16
New Hampshire…16
New Jersey…16
New Mexico…13
New York…17
North Carolina.16
North Dakota…18
Ohio…16
Oklahoma…18
Oregon…18
Pennsylvania…14
Rhode Island…16
South Carolina.16
South Dakota…16
Tennessee…18
Texas…17
Utah…14
Vermont…15
Virginia…16
Washington…18
West Virginia…16
Wisconsin…18
Wyoming…18

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Age 16 if the man is 21 or older.

[2] If the female is over 12, the statute applies only to virgins.

If I remember correctly, Jerry Lee had some trouble getting into the U.K. because of the age of his wife. Mores and sanctions change; it was not too long ago teenage women widely considered prime ruttin’ material.

6

Also, as for teens having sex with one another-- I’m sure it’s illegal according to the letter of the law, but most D.A.'s have far better things to prosecute than back-seat hanky panky. I suppose an irate father could take a boy to court for compromising his daughter’s honor, but I doubt the boy would get much more than a fine and a few snickers from the judge for getting caught.

Wasn’t there a case in WI a year or so ago where the local D.A. got a hair up his butt about a 17yo boy knocking up a 16yo girl? IIRC, the boy was looking at 10-15 years, but the case was either thrown out or he got a far lesser sentence (along the lines of probation).

7

In New York, under-age statuatory rape is defined by the difference in ages. I don’t emember the exact figures but it’s something like; illegal for a 14 year old to have sex with anyone under the age of 13, illegal for a 16 year old to have sex with anyone under the age of 15, illegal for an 18 year old to have sex with anyone under the age of 16, illegal for a 20 year old to have sex with someone under the age of 18, and anyone can screw someone 18 or older. As for those southern states that have apparently incredibly young ages of consent, keep in mind that many of those probably applied to marital sex only. Of course in my opinion, getting married at the age of thirteen is even stupider than just having sex with junior high prom date.

8

Cheese Head, the USA is pretty strict about age of consent compared to other countries.

19 is a teenager. Thus, yes, teenagers can have sex with each other & adults.

Under 18, generally not. It depends on the state.

In the USA, kids of all ages have sex with each other & adults, they rarely get caught.

9

Since when is 19 a teenager? I mean, are you just saying that because it’s got the word “teen” in it? I believe 18 is considered a legal adult, is it not?

Leslie Irish Evans
http://leslie.scrappy.net

10

Just to let you know, I believe the source of the above ages was the Internet-Value-Proving http://www.ageofconsent.com

“I guess it is possible for one person to make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”

11

Reminds me of a roadie who kept meticulous records of the age of consent in every territory he was likely to visit.

He complained that there was a place (I doubted him, but one does not argue with a roadie in his house) where the age of consent was 21.

I told him that meant he could do a 12 year old, and just claim he was dyslexic! :slight_smile:

Yer pal,
Satan

12

Mike King…

Wasn’t there a cop up in your neck of the woods that was charged after it was found that he had sex with the neighbor’s daughter? I believe he was in his 20’s and she 16. Haven’t heard anything about it other than the original charge. Are they still pursuing charges against him?

13

*Girl Next Door: Since when is 19 a teenager? I mean, are you just saying that because it’s got the word “teen” in it? I believe 18 is considered a legal adult, is it not? *

“Teenager” and “adult” are not mutually exclusive. Yes a teenager is anyone from 13-19. (Aguably, 10-12 could be included. But English doesn’t form their names the same.)

14

There was a recent case in Maryland where an adult male in his 20’s married his pregnant 13-year-old girlfriend. He got off on an overlooked law. Although the age of consent and marrying age are much higher than 13, this one law allowed 13-year-olds to marry if there was a pregnancy involved. I guess it was to make “honest” women out of the girls, as well as force the men to face their responsibilities.

Needless to say, the legislature quickly overturned the law.

15

Girl,

teen•age "te-'naj\ or teen•aged -'najd\ adjective (1921)
: of, being, or relating to people in their teens
teen•ag•er -'na-jer\ noun

©1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

16

Also, ‘child’ = under 18, minor = under 21 [some don’t agree with this but in Calif a lawyer said that is the right age, not 18].

The age of consent is pretty low in some states because they want to make more citizens. Calif has plenty of people, so a higher age of consent, 18. We aren’t all that liberal out here ya know?

17

I just wanted to point out which states in Beatle’s list had an age of consent below 16:

Delaware
Georgia
Iowa
Kentucky
Maine
New Mexico
Pennsylvainia
Utah
Vermont

The South is hardly overrepresented in this list.

18

Age of consent has nothing to do with marriage.

The age of consent is when you’re old enough that, if you choose to have sex with someone, it is not automatically assumed that, as a child, you were bullied into it, making it automatically rape (“statutory rape”). (In some states, the difference in age also matters, on the assumption that it’s ridiculous to call it “rape” when a 14-year-old futters his 13-year-old girlfriend.)

That is not the same as the age for legal marriage.

Moreover, in most states, the age for legal marriage depends on whether or not you have parental consent.

John W. Kennedy
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”
– Charles Williams

19

Mike has the NY law close to right, but not exactly. Over a certain age (11, IIRC) the gap of four years difference in age makes it statutory rape, but it is technically illegal to have sexual relations with someone under the age of 18. The charge is a misdemeanor called, I think, sexual misconduct or sexual abuse.

20

Who wants to have sex with people under 18 anyway? No one hardly ever comes, there is pressure from pregnancy, getting caught, plus the law. Well that’s what I read, never did try it myself.