Being convicted of any sex crime can ruin a person’s life. It can require them to register as a sex offender forever. It can prevent them from working many jobs. It can alienate friends and relatives. While some might deserve this type of treatment, what happens when a person is technically guilty of having sex with a minor but did not know that they were a minor? Keep reading to get the answer, and then contact Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 for a free consultation with a criminal defense attorney.
The Definition of Statutory Rape
Before we get any further, let us define statutory rape. It is the crime of having sexual intercourse with someone who is physically incapacitated, mentally disabled, or under the age of consent. In these cases, even if the alleged victim consented, it is considered rape. This is because the state believes that these people are unable to legally consent. Even if they initiate the activity, they cannot consent.
The Age of Consent
While there are two other reasons a person might face charges of statutory rape, the most common is due to the fact that the alleged victim was under the age of consent. To make this even more confusing, the age of consent is not the same in all stages. In California, it is 18. In most states, it is 16. In still others, such as New York, it is 17.
Some states have what are known as “close-in-age” exemptions or Romeo and Juliet laws, which allow for someone who is within one to two years of the alleged victim to legally fornicate with them.
Mistake of Age Defense
Now, to the purpose of this blog: the mistake of age defense. This is the defense that the person who allegedly committed statutory rape reasonably believed that the alleged victim was over the age of consent. Not all states allow this as a defense, but some do. In the states where it is allowed, it is allowed under what’s known as mens rea, meaning that the defendant did not have the information necessary to have the intent to commit the crime. In California, mistake of age has been a defense to statutory rape since 1964.
Mistake of Age Can Be an Affirmative Defense
In California, mistake of age is not an affirmative defense – but it is in other states. To be an affirmative defense means that the defendant has the burden of proving that they thought the person was of age. In California, where it is not an affirmative defense, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the alleged perpetrator knew the alleged victim was not of a legal age to consent.
