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Age of consent texas11/21/2023 Each charge carries prison time and extensive fines. In Texas, there are three categories of statutory rape, with aggravated sexual assault being the most serious. Only your criminal defense attorney will be able to give you advice on your specific case. However, if a defendant reasonably believed the other person was over the age of consent, this may play a part in the case. Mistake of age is not a defense in Texas, so it cannot be relied on to avoid conviction. Mistake of age means the defendant had no reason to know their partner was underage and that a reasonable person would have believed they were of the age of consent. While mistake of age is not an exception to the age of consent, it is important to note here as it can be difficult to tell exactly how old a person is nowadays. ![]() The marriage waives the age of consent and therefore allows for the 16-year old to consent to sexual acts with their adult spouse. If an individual under the age of 17 is married to an older adult spouse, then the age of consent rule is waived and sexual assault charges should not be filed.įor example, if a 16-year old is married to a 21-year-old, then the 21-year old should not be charged with statutory rape. The marital exemption allows consensual sex between a married minor and their adult spouse. Talk with your criminal defense attorney to see if this applies to your case. The Romeo and Juliet Exception is a defense to a sexual assault or statutory rape allegation in Texas. ![]() The same rule applies for an 18-year old who has consensual sex with a 15 or 16-year-old. The defendant was not a registered sex offenderįor example, a 17-year old cannot be prosecuted for having consensual sex with a 14, 15, or 16 year old because they are within a three-year age gap.The victim was at least 14 years old when the sexual relationship began.The defendant is less than three years older than the victim.The exception is found in the statutory rape Texas Penal Code Section 22.021, which says a teenager cannot be prosecuted for statutory rape after having consensual sex with someone close to their age if: The Texas Legislature enacted the “Romeo and Juliet” provision in child sexual assault cases to reduce or eliminate cases of alleged statutory rape. The two biggest exceptions to the age of consent law in Texas are the Romeo and Juliet exception and the marriage exemption. While the age of consent is 17, there are a couple of exceptions to the age of consent, which are important to know and may help your case. Section 21.11 prohibits sexual conduct with a child younger than the age of 17. ![]()
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