About Statutory Rape

Source http://www.purplepjs.com/static/Truth-About-Statutory-Rape.htmThat being said, like the ages of consent, punishments for statutory rape vary from state to state, and due to factors such as how angry the person is who filed the charges, the opinion of the judge (or jury if applicable), the age of the victim, and the age gap between the victim and the perpetrator. Naturally, a 48-year-old that has sex with a 12-year-old will face greater punishment than a 20-year-old that has sex with a 17-year-old in California.In addition, statutory rape laws generally do not say that one person must be an adult and one must be a minor. A minor can be charged with statutory rape for having sex with another minor. This is rare, but it has happened, especially in cases where one minor has been older, drastically more mature, or significantly more aggressive than the other. Even more rare, but still possible, both parties could even be charged, as they each would have committed statutory rape against each other.This leads to one myth that is slowly being debunked: yes, women can commit statutory rape. Though its true that women get charged for it far less often and cases of women raping men are reported substantially less frequently as a ratio of the whole than men raping women. But the point still stands, if you are a woman and you get going with a guy and he says no, no means no regardless of the sex of the person the mouth is attached to.It is also a federal crime to take someone across state lines for the purpose of sex. So if you are 17 in California, where the age of consent is 18, dating a 22-year-old and you decide to take a weekend trip to Nevada, where the age of consent is 16, to have extravagant sex, you can be punished federally and spend several years in jail. It is also worth noting that cases pursued federally tend to prosecute with a heavier hand.The typical punishment for statutory rape is to serve jail time. While states list penalties as being anywhere from four to thirty years, a good lawyer can generally bargain down from the initial offer made by the courts. Of course, the younger you are the less likely you are to have a good lawyer (unless you have wealthy parents!). But after reviewing cases in several states, it is evident that penalties are lighter when the parties involved are closer in age. So if you are 19 and having sex with a 17-year-old, you are much better off than a 45-year-old having sex with a 13-year-old. Though either way, you should expect to spend a few years in jail.