Ohio -- Age of Consent
[Cool Teen Sites]
EDITOR: Revised Info November, 2000
Section 2907.04
Corruption of a Minor?
Changed title to: Unlawful Sexual Conduct with
a Minor
General Assembly: 121.
Bill Number: Amended Sub. S.B. 2
Effective Date: 07/01/96
(A) No person who is eighteen years of age or older shall engage in sexual conduct with
another, who is not the spouse of the offender, when the offender knows the other
person is thirteen years of age or older but less than sixteen years of age, or the
offender is reckless in that regard.
(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of corruption of a minor, a felony of the
fourth degree. If the offender is less than four years older than the other person,
corruption of a minor is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
The confusion arises because section 2907.02 states ..
A)(1) No person shall engage in sexual conduct with another who is not the
spouse of the offender or who is the spouse of the
offender but is living separate and apart from the offender, when any of the following
applies:
(b) The other person is less than thirteen years of age, whether or not the offender knows the age of the other person.
But 2907.02 was written to address the crime of RAPE. Section 2907.04 was written to address corruption of a minor as it was originally written, but modified to reflect "unlawful sexual conduct". Further, the law was drafted to provide differing penalties based on the age of the "offender".
Source: http://orc.avv.com/title-29/sec-2907/sec-2907.02.htm
(including session law and notes)
Source: http://orc.avv.com/title-29/sec-2907/sec-2907.04.htm (including
session law and notes)
Section 5924.120
General Assembly: 104. Bill Number: Amended House Bill 154 Effective Date: 10-10-61
(A) Any person subject to this code who commits an act of sexual intercourse with a female not his wife, by force and without her consent, is guilty of rape and shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
(B) Any person subject to this code who, under circumstances not amounting to rape, commits an act of sexual intercourse with a female not his wife who has not attained the age of sixteen years, is guilty of carnal knowledge and shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
(C) Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete either of these offenses.
Section 5924.125
General Assembly: 104. Bill Number: Amended House Bill 154 Effective Date: 10-10-61
(A) Any person subject to this code who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the offense.
(B) Any person found guilty of sodomy shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
On October 15, 1998, we received the following e-mail:
"You have the Ohio code from 1961!!!!
The code has been revised many times since then. I don't have
the website but you need to get it updated."
We verified our sources and could only find that these laws have not been changed or
modified
since their implementation in 1961. As usual, if you have more relevant information
or better sources, please drop us a line.
From: "Tim Thalheimer"
To:
Date: Fri, 27 Nov 1998 17:54:43
The sections of the Ohio Revised Code that you cite as evidence of the prohibition of sodomy are currently on the books (5924.120 & 5924.125) as you state -- however, these sections are contained in Title 59 (Veterans -- Military Affairs), Chapter 5924 (Code of Military Justice). Other than these citations, there is no other mention of sodomy in the entire code including Chapter 2907 (Sex Offenses). It would appear therefore, that the only prohibition of sodomy in the state would be for the Ohio militia and not for the general public. I am not a lawyer however, so I echo your call to those practicing law in the state of Ohio to give a final determination.
From: "Daniel J. Riggsby"
To:
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1998 01:47:35
I found these sections of the Ohio revised code that apply to age of consent at the
following web address. http://orc.avv.com/ Hope this helps, Dan Section 2907.04 General
Assembly: 121. Bill Number: Amended Sub. S.B. 2 Effective Date: 07/01/96
(A) No person who is eighteen years of age or older shall engage in sexual conduct with
another, who is not the spouse of the offender, when the offender knows the other person
is thirteen years of age or older but less than sixteen years of age, or the offender is
reckless in that regard.
(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of corruption of a minor, a felony of the
fourth degree. If the offender is less than four years older than the other person,
corruption of a minor is a misdemeanor of the first degree. Section 2907.07 General
Assembly: 109 Bill Number: House Bill. 511 Effective Date: 1-1-74 (A) No person shall
solicit a person under thirteen years of age to engage in sexual activity with the
offender, whether or not the offender knows the age of such person. (B) No person shall
solicit a person of the same sex to engage in sexual activity with the offender, when the
offender knows such solicitation is offensive to the other person, or is reckless in
that regard. (C) No person shall solicit another, not the spouse of the offender, to
engage in sexual conduct with the offender, when the offender is eighteen years of age
or older and four or more years older than the other person, and the other person is over
twelve but not over fifteen years of age, whether or not the offender knows the age of
the other person. (D) Whoever violates this section is guilty of importuning. Violation of
division (A) or (B) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree. Violation of
division (C) of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
Email Received: November 2000
Subject: Wishful Thinking
"Subject: Conflict in Colorado?"
Date: Tue, 05 Oct 1999 15:04:55 -0500
I looked over the laws for Colorado, and while I'm not expert on law, it seems clear to me
that the age of sexual consent in Colorado is 18.
If the "victim" is under 15, then it's a felony. If the "victim" is
under 18, then it's a misdemeanor.
I didn't see a conflict. I think their law is organized in this fashion to allow the
prosecutors the option of reducing your charge from a felony to a misdemeanor if you had
sex with a 14 year old, but their were some sort of extenuating circumstances.
[sender] from Oklahoma"
Reply: Don't kid yourself. The fact that Colorodo laws makes sexual activity with a person
under eighteen (if the age difference is at least four years) does not mean that
prosecutors are going to use this statute in lieu of the felony statute applicable to
sexual activity with someone who is under the age of fifteen. The reason why the
misdemeanor statute was added should be obvious: there are situations where families get
quite upset when it comes to light that their 15,16, and 17-year-old children are having
sexual relations with an adult. As "community values" in places such as Colorodo
Springs are not quite the same as those in Denver, such a statute can be selectively
enforced, depending upon the county and the circumstances. In the case of sexual activity
with a person under fifteen, you can quite safely assume that if the District Attorney
chooses to prosecute, it will be on FELONY charges.
Age of Consent laws were not passed to "protect" children, but rather, TO
PROTECT THE FAMILY. FAMILIES VOTE ON ELECTION DAY.
07-2000 New Source: U.S. statutory rape laws is published on the Web by the National
Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. The booklet, which
requires Adobe Acrobat to read, is located at:
http://www.calib.com/nccanch/pubs/99statutes/35-SexualOffenses.PDF