Originally posted by Gizmo:
Originally posted by Girlie:
[b]PA's age of consent is also 16.
At age 16 it's just statchetory rape, anything younger it's molestation of a child; it's not *legal* for an adult to [censored] a kid... [/b]I have a little bit of
"knowledge" when it comes to this...remember I married a man who is 11 years older than I am...when I was 17.
In PA it is not statutory rape to [censored] a 16 year old, as that is the age of consent in PA. 15 and under is a no go. 16 is all in the clear. NY's age of consent is 17. The only other one I know is Canada, which was 14 last I knew.
In criminal law, the age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be capable of legally giving informed consent to sexual acts with another person. In most jurisdictions, the Age of Consent is violated when an adult has intercourse with an individual who has not reached that jurisdictions AOC. In other jurisdictions, the AOC is a minimum age for any type of sexual conduct, and two minor participants can violate a jurisdiction's AOC. The crime and penalties for an AOC violation varies based on jurisdiction, the age of the older actor and the difference between the two actors. Charges may range from a relatively low level misdemeanor such as "corruption of a minor" to statutory rape (which is considered equivalent to rape, both in severity and sentencing.) Some jurisdictions have a second age of consent that is relevant in situations when the adult actor is in a position of authority over the minor (affecting teachers, coaches, principals, health professionals, police officers, family members.)
The age of consent should not be confused with the age of majority or age of criminal responsibility, and in some jurisdictions, the marriageable age differs from the age of consent.
The age of consent varies widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, though most jurisdictions in the world today have an age of consent between 14 to 18 years, but ages as young as 12 and as old as 21 also occur. The relevant age may also vary by the type of sexual act or the gender of the people concerned.
Source EDIT:
I was right about Canada...it's still 14. (18 for anal sex)
Age of Consent is
16 in:
Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Alabama
Age of consent is
17 in:
Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New York, Texas
Age of consent is
18 in:
Arizona, California, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin
Then it gets a little bit stickier depending on the situation, but some are as low as 14.
Virginia: 15, but is not explicitly stated; Code of Virginia "� 18.2-63" makes any carnal knowledge without force, of any child less than 15 to be a crime, with the penalty reduced if the accused is within 4 years of age of the complaining witness. Persons such as law enforcement officers may not engage in sexual activity with children under 18 who are in custody or are escapees. There does not appear to be any other Virginia statute declaring consentual sexual activity with persons at least 15 years of age illegal, as the statute making fornication a crime � 18.2-344 was struck down as unconstitutional in January 2005 by the Virginia Supreme Court in Martin v. Ziherl.
Colorado: 15 (17 if partner 10 years older and not spouse)
Florida: 16 (If partner under 24), 18 (all other adult partners)
Idaho: 16 or 17 (if partner less than 5 years older), 18 (all other adult partners)
Iowa: 14 or 15 (if partner less than 5 years older), 16 (all other adult partners)
Missouri: 14 (if partner under 21), 17 (all other adults)
Nevada: 16 (heterosexual), 21 (homosexual)
New Hampshire: 16, 18 (person in position of authority, see NH RSA 632-A:4 III.)
New Mexico: 16 (18 if partner at least 4 or more years older than minor)
South Carolina: 14 (Under state constitution)/16 (Under state law - appears to conflict with state constitution).
Washington: 16 (18 if partner is at least 60 months older, in a significant supervisory relationship, and uses that relationship to engage in sex with the minor).
Wyoming: 16/18 (conflicting laws appear to set two different ages of consent)
Source