Some sex crimes are truly violent acts. Others are technical violations of state statutes. The term “statutory rape” refers to a scenario in which the law makes an otherwise consensual act of intimacy illegal.
Individual states can establish ages of consent. People who are at or over the age of consent can have intimate relationships with others. Those who are intimate with people below the age of consent are potentially at risk of criminal prosecution. Who is at risk of prosecution for a statutory offense?
Both age and age gap matter
Age of consent laws often create legal gray zones in which people may not realize they have violated the law or where consensual relationships between teenagers enrolled in high school together can lead to criminal prosecution.
West Virginia’s statute includes language that reduces the likelihood of such cases. The general age of consent is 16. However, there is also a rule governing allegedly criminal encounters between those over the age of 16 and those under the age of 16.
Specifically, there typically needs to be at least a four-year age gap for the state to bring charges against the older partner. If a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old are intimate with one another, the 16-year-old partner usually is not at risk of prosecution.
However, if the older partner is in their twenties, the age gap is large enough to warrant prosecution under state statutes. Those accused of sex crimes, including statutory rape offenses involving younger partners, are at risk of life-altering penalties.
Discussing what led to a criminal charge can help people evaluate potential defense strategies. Those accused of sex crimes can sometimes avoid convictions if they have appropriate support during legal proceedings.
