A 17 year old boy (18 in August) had sexual relations with a 15 year old girl. (Were having relations since boy was 16 and girl was 14). They are about pretty much exactly 2 1/2 years apart. They have COMPLETELY stopped communication at this point but the father says he will press charges on the boy the second he turns 18. If they boy and girl have completely NO CONTACT whatsoever for this period and until the girl is 18 can the boy still go to jail once he is 18 even though the act was committed before he was 18?
Case In California
December 9th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Absolutely not. The “offense” would have had to actually occur after he turned 18.
December 10th, 2009 at 2:38 am
Nope, they will most probably not arrest him. Just because mommy and daddy get pissy don’t mean crap. My daughter got pregnant at 16 with a boy who was 20. We weren’t happy about it, but the police wouldn’t do anything about it either. And we live in California. The majic age limit is 5 years or 15 for the girl, 20 for the boy. Anything over a five year difference either way, whoever is over 18 will get in trouble. Don’t worry about it and tell the parents to quit overreacting. Just because they weren’t doing their job, doesn’t give them a right to start being jerks now. Besides, the cops know retaliation when they see it, and that is what this would look like to the police.
December 11th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Where do people get these answers from?
It’s statutory, by the way. Just want to be sure you know the right word.
In California, sexual *********** is illegal if either of the involved parties are under 18. Period.
Don’t know what more there is to say about that.
Do know what more to say about this father:
Did the father witness the *** act(s) in question? If he didn’t, and can’t prove otherwise that there was sex, he can scream and yell all he wants about pressing charges but it will go nowhere. We don’t convict people in this country on what a father thinks, we’re still requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Is the girl prepared to testify against the boy? If so, the boy might find himself in hot water.
All this “when he is 18 and when she is 18″ stuff is confusing. If Dad intends to report the boy, he’s an idiot to wait until the boy is 18. Makes no sense.
Can the boy still go to jail once he is 18, even though the *** was before he turned 18? Yes, the boy could. Not all that likely, though…even now when the boy is 17, for that matter.
If the *** was consensual, and the age difference was no more than three years, I think it’s going to be very unlikely that anyone is going to get really excited about this (except maybe Dad).
And again - Dad has to have *proof* that there was *** if he’s going to try and make an issue out of this.
EDIT:
I really, really **** to have John S disagree with me. But I don’t see where the following allows for a 17-year-old to have *** with a 15-year-old:
261.5. (a) Unlawful sexual *********** is an act of sexual
intercourse accomplished with a person who is not the spouse of the perpetrator, if the person is a minor. For the purposes of this section, a “minor” is a person under the age of 18 years and an “adult” is a person who is at least 18 years of age.
(b) Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual
intercourse with a minor who is not more than three years older or three years younger than the perpetrator, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(c) Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual
intercourse with a minor who is more than three years younger than the perpetrator is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison.
Now, there’s talk here about minors and adults, but the only time the section references that at all is when it addresses civil penalties (for which I’m guessing a minor cannot be held liable for). John S. is exceptionally polite and knowledgeable, and I really, really **** to disagree with him, but I think I do. Hopefully he can educate me as to why I’m wrong (in email, because at this point I doubt anyone else is interested - to include the poster!). If he does and if I’m wrong, I’ll be right back here to tell the world
December 12th, 2009 at 2:35 am
I really, really **** to disagree with Mikeysco, but you cannot commit the crime of unlawful sexual *********** (it is not called “statutory rape” in California) unless you are 18 years old or over. (Cal. Pen. Code sec. 261.5.) There is a crime of lewd acts with a child, but that crime is not committed if the younger person is 14 or 15 unless the other person is 10 years or more older. (Cal. Pen. Code sec. 288.)
However, oral *** with anybody under 18 is a crime which can be punished as a felony, even if both people are under 18. (Cal. Pen. Code sec. 288a.) If he continues to have sexual relations with her after he turns 18, it will be a crime. Since he is not three years older than her, it will be a misdemeanor. (Cal. Pen. Code sec. 261.5, subd. (b).)
By the way, Dad is not going to “press charges.” The most he could do is report this to the police or district attorney. Since it appears that no crime has been committed (unless Dad has proof of oral sex), those agencies will be uninterested. (They will probably be uninterested even with proof of oral ***.)