Does the UK have a close in age exemption for underage sex?

Answer 1

Do you mean, if you're just a little bit over the age limit and she's just a little bit under is it then only a little bit illegal?

Sorry - the law doesn't really work like that. If she's under age, she's jail-bait, whether you're 18 or 80.

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Answer 2

The ages of both parties may be taken into consideration when deciding whether to prosecute and, if so, the length of the sentence. "Unlawful sexual intercourse" is treated more seriously if the child under is under 13, but is still an offence if she is under 16. Prosecution can go ahead even if the underage girl consents to sex.

Obviously, however, the perpetrator would be considered more culpable (responsible) if there is a big age gap. If the boy is 16 and the girl is 15, sentencing might be very different to if the offence was perpetrated against a 15 year old by, say, a 30 year old man - questions of power and abuse of trust make it more serious.

That being said, I have come across a few cases where prosecution of a young man has gone ahead, and the offender has ended up with a "schedule 1" conviction (i.e. they are listed as dangerous to children).