Do I need my parents' consent to get married? No exception?

Question

If we get married,he can avoid possible statutory rape charges,right?
Please,have a heart,I don't want him deported or in trouble.Yes,I did post three questions.I'm at my sister's.I don't have Internet access at home.

I'm 16,he's 24

California

Answer 1

"Do I need my parents' consent to get married? No exception? If we get married,he can avoid possible statutory rape charges,right?"

The quick answer to your questions are "Yes, you do need at least one of your parents to consent to your marriage in California if you are under 18 years of age. And, no, your 24 year old boyfriend will not be shielded from statutory rape charges simply because you get married."

The old saying is: "You can't un-ring a bell."

Once sexual intercourse was accomplished between you and the 24 year old in the state of California, he could be charged with statutory rape. Even if you were to get married now, that still won't change-- from now until the statute of limitations runs he can be convicted of that criminal offense. Additionally, if your sexual relationship started before you turned 16, then he can be charged with other, more serious offenses.

Editorial: You didn't come here to be judged, so I won't judge you. But you still aren't likely to find a lot of sympathetic ears here. Most of us think we know that your 24 year old boyfriend is taking advantage of you even if you think he's sweet and even if you think he loves you. There are young men your age (or not too much older than you) who find you attractive and who will give you love and acceptance. You might not have found them yet, but they're out there. And the good thing about exploring your sexuality with someone around your own age is that you're both at similar levels of maturity and you both probably have closer levels of experience. And the chances that you're being taken advantage of are a lot smaller: You might even be doing the young man a favor....

But to look at it from your perspective, your sexual relationship with such an older man puts him at significant risk for criminal prosecution. And since many prison inmates have children of their own, child molesters and child rapists are abused and beaten and generally treated very poorly in prison. You might want to consider severing ties with him just to protect him from a potentially gruesome fate.

I hope you can understand why many of us are concerned. Also, Please take a look at this website:
http://www.ageofconsent.com/california.htm
and read the section "WHY SO MUCH ATTENTION TO STATUTORY RAPE?"

[This is not legal advice. You should consult a licensed attorney-at-law for legal advice and representation before making decisions that may affect your legal rights.]

Answer 2

How old are you? If you are over the age of consent in your state, then you don't need parental permission to marry. I don't know if that superceeds statutory rape charges or not. But, if the two of you are currently irresponsible enough to have sex, then you have to pay the piper - which could mean rape charges against him. If you didn't want him in trouble, then you should have considered that before you had sex.

You can barely form a sentence right now, so I'm guessing that you aren't very old. You seriously need to look at what you want for the rest of your life before you make this kind of a committment. Good luck to you.


Edit: You are 16 and he's 24?????? You should seriously look at why a 24 year old needs to be with a 16 year old. It's nothing against you, but you are in two different worlds. You can't vote. You can't drink. You can't even legally drop out of school? Why are you in such a hurry to grow up and have to be an adult? You need to hit the reset button and start this relationship over again, this time without sex. If he loves you, then he can wait for you and do things right. Honestly, you need to get in to see a counselor ASAP to help you sort through this.

Answer 3

Each state is different, so you would need to check with your state's laws. Also, as far as the statutory rape goes, the legal age as they say is 16, in most states, but you would probably need to just call a family lawyer and ask them. Also, if the male and/or female is 3 years or older then they consider it statutory rape. So in your case, even if though you are 16, he is still more than 3 years old than you, so it is a fine line and depending on if your parents want to really push the issue, it could very well be a problem.

Answer 4

"In the United States, all but two states require a couple be age 18 in order to marry without parental consent. Nebraska sets the age at 19 and Mississippi at 21 at the time of this writing (May 2003). A few states will waive this requirement if there is a pregnancy involved, but the couple may still have to have court approval." http://www.coolnurse.com/marriage_laws.htm

In Mexico, too, parental consent is requried for marriage under age 18 http://marriage.about.com/od/international/p/mexico.htm

"Age of consent" laws, by state, are described at: http://www.actwin.com/eatonohio/gay/consent.htm
For most states it's 16; some have a requirement that the other party's age be within a certain number of years.

Ieave to others to discuss the appropriateness of the relationship, but have a look at two recent cases that made newspaper headlines (in both cases the girls were 13 and married with parental consent):

Answer 5

No the place. it somewhat is a criminal offense for all people to marry you youthful than 18 devoid of consent. you at the instant are not heavily thinking of doing this are you??? you're too youthful. Why marry if it somewhat is in basic terms going to end in divorce? Wait. wait and notice. there is not any hurry.

Answer 6

Your to young to be thinking about that. A 24 year old that will get with a 16 year old deserves to be deported. When I was 17 I was with a 24 year old and trust me its not worth it. Yes you need your parents consent.

Answer 7

West Virginia you don't need parents signature- I don't think. But he is wayyyyyyyy toooooo old for you and you are plain WAY TOO YOUNG to be thinking about marriage. You will change so much between now and 20 that you will regret it if you marry him. If you have already had sex then he deserves to be deported. He is a pig- if he can't wait until you are 18. He should be ashamed. Please don't marry him. You will regret it I promise. You have your whole life and I guarantee you will fall in love many other times.

Answer 8

No, even if you do get married he will not aviod statutory rape charges. There was a recent case about this in the news - the girl and guy got married and even had a baby together, but he was charged and convicted.

Answer 9

Getting married wont eliminate a statutory rape charge. If a prosecutor can prove he had sex with you, (pregnancy for example), and can prove that you were underage, then he will be found guilty, whether you are now married or not. Finally, if you are underage, you may not get married without parental consent.

Answer 10

You are a minor... you need consent

Why would you want to marry a child rapist... someone who knowingly has done such a thing?? What possible interest should a 24 year old have with a 16 year old?

You have been told numerous times that your views on this are completely wrong. Your mother has every right to go after this scumbag.

You are luck you are not my daughter. He would possibly never make it to getting arrested. Someone does this to my daughter, and they would be lucky to not be taking a dirt nap.