If a minor lies about being old enough to have legal and consensual sex with an adult, is that considered sexual assault?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If a minor lies about being old enough to have legal and consensual sex with an adult, is that considered sexual assault?
A male adult hires a minor that lied about her being of age to babysit for his kids. The male adult thinking she’s 17 that’s what she lied about and she engages in a bit of fooling around. At first, it hurts so he stops. Around another time, they do it again and he ends up getting her pregnant. The truth comes out she lied about her age. She admits to being only 15. However, she agreed to have sex with a rather much older male 25 but she keeps on changing her story if she does not get her way. So if he doesn’t do what she says, she threatens to lie and say that he sexually assaulted her even though it was consensual. The way that I see it is she did not give him a clear understanding of what she wanted. She gave him
Asked on March 6, 2019 under Criminal Law, Alaska
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Lack of knowledge or even being actively lied to is not a defense to what is commonly called statutory rape. A minor aged 15 cannot legally consent to sex with an adult; therefore, legally, the male did rape her, the same as having sex with an unconscious or drugged woman would be rape, because when somoene may not legally consent, it is by definition rape.
Again, we stress that it does not matter that she gave her consent, because she could not legally consent.
It appears that because she was 15 and you were over 17 (and more than 4 years older than her), the specific crime the male committed was sexual assault or abuse in the 2nd degree. That is felony, with a potential jail term of up to 10 years, though I believe 4 years is more common. The male should retain a criminal defense attorney to help him; this is potentially a very serious matter.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.