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law questions
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Someone posted this on a Facebook group and I'm wondering if it's true.
As far as law I think it's only legal if 16 year olds have sex with 16-18 year olds. Above that is considered statutory rape.
As far as law I think it's only legal if 16 year olds have sex with 16-18 year olds. Above that is considered statutory rape.
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Statutory rape doesn't exist as such in the UK.
depends on the ages involved. If you're over 18 and have sex with someone under 13, then you're gonna be arrested.
Of course, consensual sex with a person under the age of 13 has exactly the same penalty scale as rape (i.e. maximum of life imprisonment) so it's a bit of a moot point.
The legal age of consent as laid down by the sexual offences act of 2003 and the criminal law amendment act of 1885 state the age of consent is 16 and persons engaging in sexual acts below that age are comitting an offence, because they cannot legally give consent......
It's not wholly enforced, but trust me. A 5 year old 13 year old or technically a 15 11 month year old cannot give consent for sex, if you have sex with someone under 16 you can be prosecuted. it might not be CALLED statutory rape, but that is what it is.
For rape they have to not agree.
I know, however it's semantics. The law says a person under the age of 16 cannot give consent for sex. Technically, they cannot agree.
It's what means that the male half of a 15 year old couple isn't a rapist.
I did say earlier that the law isn't usually enforced in these circumstances. It does mean that a someone 30 year old sicko having sex with a 13 year old can't argue that consent was given though.
Kind of and kind of not. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 did change some of the wording to do with consent, you're right (and I should have checked more closely before posting...my bad). But this really was just semantics (because of a legal case where a man tried to argue he hadn't raped a five-year-old because she consented) and the effect of the law did not change. We still do not have statutory rape.
The effect is not that people under the age of 16 are raped by someone over the age of 16 (or 18 if they are a person of authority). So statutory rape doesn't really come into it.
There still remain separate offences of having sex with a child under the age of 16 (which I believe has a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment) and having sex with a child under the age of 13 (which has a maximum penalty of life imprisonment).
Maybe if he is 17 and she is 15 perhaps. If he is 25 and she is 12.....no defence.
I'm not defending it or anything like that. I am merely point out that rape whereby intercourse is forced against someones will is different to underage consenting sex.
Apart from anything else, the former is generally a crime with a certain amount of violence.
I'm not disputing that!
simple as that.