Underage Sex, illegal?

Question

My girlfriend and I waited till we were 18, I understand that underage sex is illegal and different countries set the bar at different ages but there are some things I'm not too clear on. Millions of kids as young as 12 and 13 have sex, as soon as they're able to get erections or get wet they're humping away. But how is the law enforced, how are the police to know about these kids having sex and the penalties? If someone of age has sex with a minor it equates to statuory rape but what about kids the same age, who gets charged with the rape or is there no charge as such? For example, Britney Spear's sister and her boyfriend have been having sex, but now he might face up to 10 years because she is pregnant. How else was anyone to know? I just want to know how all this works and the point of having a law that is so poorly enforced.

Answer 1

It's only enforced when the relationship becomes public, or when the parents of one of the parties get involved and contact the police.

Answer 2

It's real simple; if someone reports it, especially if her parents complain to the police or the DA, then they prosecute.

What it basically comes down to for the typical underage couple is whether her parents object. If her parents don't mind her boyfriend having sex with their daughter, it doesn't get reported and the police never know.

Where the problem comes from is usually one of two reasons; they're having sex, it gets filmed,someone sees it and reports it; they're having sex, her parents find out and don't like it.

It also depends on how far apart their ages are. If they are within 3 (sometimes 4 years) of age, either the crime is reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, or it's actually legal.

In some states, if one of them is more than 3 (or 4) years older than the other and the younger one is under 18 (or sometimes 16 or 17) it's a serious (felony) crime but if they are only 3 (or 4) years of age difference or less it isn't a crime at all. So in the states that permit it, if she's 15 and he's 16, it's legal but if he was 19 it would be a serious crime.

California has a rule that if any of them is under 18 and the older one is within 4 years of the age of the other, then it's only a misdemeanor. Otherwise it's a felony.

As with the issue of Jamie Lynn, in California, the DA has a general policy not to prosecute consensual sex cases involving a minor even if it's publicly known UNLESS someone files a complaint. This was mentioned on Entertainment Tonight maybe 10 years ago because there was this underaged boy who had a much older girlfriend, and they mentioned that the District Attorney's office has a policy not to enforce the law on "unlawful sexual intercourse" where it's consensual and no complaint is filed by the family.

Answer 3

The law is not poorly enforced. They just can't enforce it until someone is caught or reported.
The point of the law is to discourage such activity. If it were legal, how many knuckleheads (male and female) would be with minors? Minors need to be protected from the stupidity of their elders. The law does this.
Further, it's not the job of the police to know what people are doing. It's their job to enforce a law when it is being broken. It's the job of a parent to know what their kids are doing. Unfortunately, we live in a society where everyone wants someone ELSE to be responsible.

Answer 4

The problem with all laws governing sexual behaviour is that they are hard to enforce unless you spy on the entire population all of the time. Usually the police do not become involved in statutory rape unless there is some blatant evidence of lawbreaking..as with Ms Spears boyfriend.. or a complaint made by a parent..how else are they to know? And the truth is that many parents would rather not make it public knowledge that their underage child has been voluntarily having sex..unless the child is so young or the partner so much older that they will do anything to put a stop to the abuse of their child's naivety. Hard as it is to enforce these laws, however, they are there to be used when needed and we definately do not want to try without them.

Answer 5

Here in England the law is poorly enforced but for good reason. If one, or both, partners are under age the older one is the one who takes the rap. If the GIRL is under 13 she cannot consent, and sex in this case is considered rape (even if she did consent.) If the girl is 13 or over, it is considered she could consent, but that consent would be unlawful. Sex with such a girl aged 13-16 would be considered a sexual offence less severe than rape. Where the two partners are ALMOST 16, the legal age of consent, police are not usually interested because they simply lie for each other so investigations are fruitless.

Answer 6

It's so rarely enforced because underage kids so rarely come forward in cases where they're consenting. If they're doing something they know is wrong, but they enjoy it, guaranteed they're going to keep it a secret.

Two underage kids having sex is not illegal, as neither of them are considered mature adults.

In some countries, the age of consent is lower than 18, meaning that an adult can legally have sex with a minor, provided that minor wants to have sex and agrees to do so.

Answer 7

I think someone would need to report it to the police. Obviously, if neither of them tells anyone, nothing can be done, but if a parent finds out and reports it or a teacher or something then there will be trouble. I know theres also a 3-4 year age gap thats allowed for consensual sex depending on the state, but if the minor later decides that it was a mistake, they can still report it as statutory rape. Anyways, i think its better if people just wait.

Answer 8

Just like any other law, you must get caught first. There are tons of people who speed, go thru red lights, shoplift, etc. every day, but they don't get caught and so they don't go to jail or get a ticket or anything. People these days are having sex WAY too young.They don't even know what it means or what the consequences are. I saw a magazine with a picture of Britney's sis Jamie and it said she was "shocked" that she was pregnant! Obviously she is not well-informed about sex. Condons can break and even the pill is not 100% effective. I think the 2 of you made the right choice to wait. I hope you are mature enough to handle any possible outcomes. Good luck!

Answer 9

There are different laws for different states, I think. Here,(WV) my son was seeing a girl that was 15, he was 18. this was permissable because it was consenting and there was not over 4 years difference in their ages.(I'm not sure at what age this begins) In some areas there are children as young as 9 &10 that become sexually active. I think kids need to be kids and not engage in sexual activity until they are older, but alot of it comes down to how they are raised. My step-daughter was allowed to date when she was 10 or 11 and has gone down hill from there. Faling into a relationship of drinking, sex and beatings by her boyfriend. the police can't do anything unless they are notified, but alot of times (like in our area) the prosecuting attorney decides who he will go after and who he won't. if you have money you can get away with everything. Its a shame that Spear's sister is pregnant, with so many young girls looking to her as a role model. And to think her mother is writing a book on "Parenting". that's one book I think I'll pass on.

Answer 10

In different states, the age of consent (age at which a person can consent to have sex legally) is different. In NY it's 17, CN it's 16, CA it's 18, etc. This means that if a person under the age of consent has sex, statutory rape has been committed against that person. Example: If anyone 17 or older (male or female) has sex with anyone under 17 in NY, he or she has committed statutory rape. Some might argue that the younger person may have WANTED to have sex, but because they are under the age of consent, they cannot legally give their consent, and it is considered rape.

If two people are under the age of consent have sex, they both have committed statutory rape against each other. This cannot really be enforced, because if one's parent tries to say their child was raped since s/he is under the age of consent, the other parent can say the same. (This is STATUTORY rape, being physically FORCED to have sex is entirely different.) However, if only one of the parties is under the age of consent, the one who is old enough to consent has committed statutory rape, and really can only get in trouble with the law if someone files a complaint.

Because Jamie Lynn Spears is under the age of consent and her boyfriend is not, he can be charged with statutory rape.

Answer 11

As far as I'm concerned, there should be no penalty. I mean, it's not easy to enforce it, and if you DO enforce a law once the girl is pregnant, then the father will be in prison, while the underage mother has to look after the baby by herself. Just don't enforce it. It should be left as 'not advised', rather than 'illegal'.