While minors cannot consent to sex under criminal law, some civil courts are finding them responsible for decisions about sex.
In every state of the union, a minor under 16 years of age cannot legally give consent for sex. In some states, minors cannot consent until they are even older—in California the age of consent is actually 18. This automatically makes sex between an adult and a minor a sex crime.
However, while criminal courts do not recognize minors’ ability to consent, some civil courts have found that minors are responsible for the decisions they make, including the decision to have sex with an adult. This is leading to a sticky situation where a minor may be the victim on the criminal side of a sex crimes case and the liable party on the civil side of that same case.
One notable sex crimes case that has progressed through the criminal and civil sides of the court took place right here in LA.
Criminal Outcome
The case involved a 6-month-long sexual relationship between a 28-year-old middle school teacher and his 14-year-old female student. Based on the fact that California criminal law holds 14 as too young to consent to sexual activity, the teacher was found guilty in criminal court of lewd acts with a child and is now serving time in prison.
Civil Outcome
When the student’s family sued the LA Unified School District in civil court for their alleged negligence in allowing the sexual misconduct to occur, the facts of the case were seen in a different light. The school district successfully defended itself with two main arguments.
First, they argued that they had no knowledge of the relationship and could not have reasonably been expected to know about it, because the teacher and the student met off of school property.
Secondly, they argued that the 14-year-old girl was actually at fault in the case because she consented to the sex. They demonstrated consent by showing that she made a series of conscious decisions such as lying to her mother so she could have the opportunity to meet her teacher at a hotel for voluntary consensual sex.
A Growing Pattern?
Although in this case the jury declined to find the girl liable, instead simply clearing the school of liability, there have been other civil cases in which a minor has been treated as able to consent to sex despite being underage.
According to Professor Jennifer Drobac of Indiana University, cases of civil law diverting from the criminal law’s treatment of juvenile consent have been documented in 12 other states, and there may be more.
Here in California, the issue began to crop up when sex with a minor was removed from the forcible rape statute. The intent was to allow for different penalties for forcible rape and statutory rape, but the effect has been that the courts now see that juveniles may be able to consent in certain situations.
If you have been accused of any kind of sex crime, including a crime involving consensual sex acts with a minor, be sure you get the best possible representation by contacting an experienced attorney such as Dan E. Chambers who knows how to navigate these complex issues.
