Is it legal for a 16 year old and a 21 year old to date?
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Is it legal for a 16 year old and a 21 year old to date?
Asked on November 19, 2012 under Criminal Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
In your state (as on most states) 16 years old is the "age of consent". This is the age at which they can legally consent to having sexual relations. So as long as the younger party has had their16th birthday, dating is fine. If dating does not consist of sexual relations, then they could date prior to the younger party turning 16, but that may well be playing with fire since things can easily escalate. The best course of action is to wait until both parties are of legal consent.
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