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In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent (the age required to legally consent to the behaviour).[1][2] Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sexual contact with minors under the age of consent, it is a generic term, and very few jurisdictions use the actual term statutory rape in the language of statutes.[3] In statutory rape, overt force or threat is usually not present. Statutory rape laws presume coercion because a minor or mentally disabled adult is legally incapable of giving consent to the act.
Different jurisdictions use many different statutory terms for the crime, such as sexual assault, rape of a child, corruption of a minor, unlawful sex with a minor,[4] carnal knowledge of a minor, sexual battery,[5] or simply carnal knowledge. The terms child sexual abuse or child molestation may also be used, but statutory rape generally refers to sex between an adult and a minor past the age of puberty, and may therefore be distinguished from child sexual abuse.[1][6] Sexual relations with a prepubescent child is typically treated as a more serious crime.[1][6]
- ^ a b c Carmen M. Cusack (2015). Laws Relating to Sex, Pregnancy, and Infancy: Issues in Criminal Justice. Springer. p. 10. ISBN 978-1137505194. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
Voluntary sexual intercourse with a post-pubescent minor who is younger than the legal age of consent is described as statutory rape. ... In most states, age of consent is delimited between 16 years old and 18 years old. ... In almost every jurisdiction, prepubescent children may not engage in any sexual contact. ... Engaging in sexual contact with a prepubescent child is a serious criminal offense and a felony.
- ^ "Statutory Rape Known to Law Enforcement" (PDF). U.S. Department of Justice – Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
- ^ "State Legislators' Handbook for Statutory Rape Issues" (PDF). U.S. Department of Justice – Office for Victims of Crime. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
- ^ Cieply, Michael (11 October 2009). "In Polanski Case, '70s Culture Collides With Today". The New York Times.
- ^ "794.011 Sexual battery". Official Internet Site of The Florida Legislature. The Florida Legislature. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ a b Fradella, Henry F.; Sumner, Jennifer M. (2016). Sex, Sexuality, Law, and (In)justice. Routledge. p. 375. ISBN 978-1317528906. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
Child molestation: A form of sexual assault committed against a child below a certain age. That age is usually set between 12 and 14 since such ages correspond to the onset of puberty, thereby differentiating the offense from statutory rapes (against post-pubescent adolescents) and various degrees of sexual assaults/sexual batteries against victims over the age of consent for sex.