If You Are 18, Can You Have Sexual Relations with Someone Under 16 Years Old?

If you are 18 years or older you cannot have sexual relations with someone who is under 15 years old. If does not matter if you did not know the person what under 15 years old. You also cannot even ask someone under 15 to have any kind of sexual contact with you. If you do, you could be prosecuted under Va. Code 18.2-370, Taking indecent liberties with children. You could also be convicted of Va. Code 18.2-63, Carnal Knowledge.

Can I Have Sexual Relations with Someone Under 18 if I'm 18?

It's a class 1 misdemeanor for a person 18 years of age or older to have sex with someone under the age of 18. See Va. Code 18.2-371.

What if I Have Sex with Someone Under 13 Years Old?

If you have sexual intercourse with someone under the age of 13, you could be convicted of rape. It does not matter your age, although there is a rebuttable presumption that if you are between the ages of 10 and 12 you cannot be guilty of rape. It also does not matter whether you knew the child was under 13 years old. The maximum punishment for rape in Virginia is life in prison. If you are 18 years or older and the victim is under 13, the punishment is mandatory life in prison.

What Are the Penalties for Sexual Crimes?

The penalties for sexual crimes are extremely severe. Many of the penalties carry the possibility of life in prison. In many instances, you will be forced to trial by jury because Commonwealth's Attorneys in Virginia have been able to obtain extremely long sentences from juries in sex cases.