Unless the juvenile waives the proper to a trial by jury, the case proceeds to the regular legal docket of the Superior Court, the place the juvenile should face trial as an grownup. If the juvenile agrees to the waiver, the case will proceed via the juvenile system with a bench trial. For minor sex crimes involving minors, probation could 
additionally be imposed in lieu of jail time. Also often known as a Romeo and Juliet law, it allows couples who’re shut in age to have consensual intercourse with out being answerable for statutory rape. Keep in mind that if you find yourself with a conviction that requires registration as a sex offender, the consequences might be lifelong and dire, affecting your ability to work and severely limiting the place you’ll find a way to reside. For this cause alone, you completely should seek the advice of with an skilled legal protection legal professional.
Statutory rape legal guidelines and charges
California is among the few states that does not have a Romeo and Juliet law. Even if the teens had been shut in age to each other, if one was over the age of consent and the opposite was beneath it, the older associate can face criminal expenses. Courts might impose fines on a defendant who has been convicted for a sex crime involving someone underage.
A one who has sex with somebody under the age of consent can face quite lots of legal costs relying on the state.
A more-severe cost with harsher penalties might apply if the age gap is bigger. “One of the responsibilities of the prosecution, legislation enforcement and the faculties is to teach college students and their mother and father about what the legal guidelines are,” Choi said. In most circumstances, dad and mom blow the whistle on most of these relationships by calling police, which can result in charges and lawsuits in opposition to the alleged perpetrator. Knowlton was required to undergo treatment for sex offenders. He was banned from Simley and from having contact with ladies younger than age 16. He was ordered to 30 hours of community work service and three days in jail.
What is statutory rape? how is statutory rape defined?
Teens and young adults typically aren’t conscious of the possible criminal penalties of dating somebody underage, attorneys say. What looks as if a high school romance can lead to a felony conviction and having to register as a sexual offender. One of the factors that the prosecution will consider when figuring out whether or not or the means to charge you with PC 261.5 is the age difference between you and the alleged victim. If you and the alleged sufferer are inside three years of age, you’ll doubtless be charged with misdemeanor statutory rape. If you might be greater than three years older than the alleged sufferer, you can be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony. If you may be 21 years previous or older and the minor is under the age of sixteen, the prosecution can charge you with a misdemeanor or a felony, but the punishment you face shall be extra extreme.
There can also be a mistake-in-age defense if the minor is over 12, however not if the minor is underneath 12. Within the United States, service members are subject to both the UCMJ and the applicable state law when “off-post”.[a] Depending upon the related status of forces settlement, United States service members are additionally subject to the native criminal legal guidelines of the host nation for acts dedicated off-post. When a juvenile—a person underneath the age of 18—commits a criminal offense, that offense is dealt with via the juvenile justice system, not the grownup criminal justice system. Juvenile court judges typically have broad discretion in the kinds of penalties they impose, even when a juvenile is charged with a critical offense.
Strict liability crime
On the other hand, somebody who’s sixteen years previous commits a crime by voluntarily having sex with anyone who can not themselves legally consent to intercourse, together with another 16-year-old, even if this “victim” is actually older. Under these legal guidelines, the young age of the defendant, the age of an older sufferer, or the small age difference between the accused and the opposite person could be a complete defense to a charge of statutory rape. In some states, nonetheless, these details might only be “mitigating” components that decrease the extent of the offense from perhaps a felony to a misdemeanor or reduce the attainable penalties if the defendant is convicted. Some states do not embody close-in-age consensual relationships in their definition of statutory rape. Under this sort of legislation, a prosecutor could not even file costs as a result of no crime was committed.