Virginia -- Age of Consent
[Cool Teen Sites]
[EDITOR NOTE: This site improves with good research from people who are interested in the subject. Thank you to those of you who have helped. Here is the most recent email -- which re-confirms a previous post]
Date: Mon, 29 May 2000 20:04:47 EDT
Subject: Age of Consent in VA
I have searched the VA Law online from the link provided and have the
following statutes and definitions:
§ 18.2-371
Causing or encouraging acts rendering children delinquent, abused, etc.; penalty
Any person eighteen years of age or older,
including the parent of any child, who (i) willfully contributes to, encourages, or
causes any act, omission, or condition which renders a child delinquent, in need of
services, in need of
supervision, or abused or neglected as defined in § 16.1-228, or (ii) engages in consensual sexual intercourse with a child fifteen or
older not his spouse, child, or grandchild, shall be guilty of a Class 1
misdemeanor. This section shall not be construed as repealing, modifying, or in any way
affecting §§ 18.2-18, 18.2-19, 18.2-61, 18.2-63, 18.2-66, and 18.2-347.
§ 16.1-228
Definitions
"Adult" means a person eighteen years of age or older.
This leads me to believe that though 15 might be an age of consent, you could still be
charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor if you have intercourse with a person under the age of
18 but at least 15 years of age. Tell me what you think.
[More Email on Virginia laws]
Date Thu, 24 Feb 2000 214209 -0500 (EST)
Hi, I was looking at your website, and noticed the questions regarding the age of consent
in Virginia. I spent sometime browsing VA law, and can make the following conclusions
(Note, I am not a lawyer, but well versed in law)
If you look at § 18.2-67.52 (http//leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-67.5C2), it lists various sexual offenses punished for subsequent offenses. The age laws from these links tend to indicate that engaging in carnal knowledge with a person under the age of 15 is an offense if you are 18 or older (§ 18.2-63 ), and 'indecent liberties' with a child under 14 (also if you areover 18) also is an offense (§ 18.2-370)
Regards If this is published on your website - could you please withhold my name and email address, Thank You.
§ 18.2-63
Carnal knowledge of child between thirteen and fifteen years of age
If any person carnally knows, without the use of force, a child thirteen years of age or
older but under fifteen years of age, such person shall be guilty of a
Class 4 felony.
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-63
[EDITOR: Received this strange email 11/25/99:]
OK i guess you fucked up on Va. age of consent.. well its a little late for that.. I met a female age 16 aug.9th of 1999 and the chat says she is the legal age of consent in Va.. well you need to explain to the detective who is handdling the case case her perants are mad.. here is the detective phone number...1-703-792-6569.. the case involving Phoebe and Clint... well she gave me consent and im in trouble case the chart was wrong... well i need all the help i can. we we done it out of love and we still love each other. but she is going throw hell with her perants.. im not worried about myself im worried about her.. i do care for her.. but she is going throw alot of trouble now... BYE CLINT
[EDITOR: A new response, June 28, 2000]
Yes, I wish to remain anonymous. It is clear that if the excerpts form VA law on your
pages are current then then age of consent (as you define age of consent in your
definitions) in VA is 18.
The _severity_ of the offense varies with the age of the minor. For an adult (over 18),
sex with a minor:
age 15-18 is a Class 1 misdemeanor (18.2-371)
age 13-15 is a Class 4 felony (18.2-63)
Clearly, unless there is pertinent information missing from your web pages in Virgina the
only legal conditions under
which an adult (over 18) can legally have sex with a minor (under 18) is within
marriage. For a minor (under 18) sex with another minor (13-15): less
than three years younger is a Class 4 misdemeanor (18.2-63) more than
three years younger is a Class 6 felony (18.2-63)
So (given the same caveats as above) it is clear that in Virgina consensual sex between
minors is also a crime (of
varying severity) in which the older child is held to be the guilty party and the younger
child the victim.
Clint didn't say how old he was but it seems that one or more of the following applies:
1) Your pages are missing relevent information. (such as case law)
2) The prosecutor didn't know the law.
3) The prosecutor exercised his/her discretion to not prosecute
the case for whatever reasons.
4) Clint is hosing us, or just plain clueless.
[EDITOR: Yes, laws are confusing and not every website gets updated. However, this is the next email we received.]
To: <research@ageofconsent.com>
Subject: Virignia Age of Consent Apparent Confirmation
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 1999 14:26:55 -0600
After sending u my review towards the confusing data or existing language of the Law in Virginia Concerning the Age of Consent, I was able to talk to the Court District and ask for the information of whether it was 16 or 18. And the response from the DA office is that the legal Age of Consent is 16 he made no mention to the article of the Law where it spoke of the 18 year old statue. He just said that the Age of Consent is 16 years of age. So I guess its clear now to everyone. But if you wish to pursue further this information I suggest you call or contact any courthouse and inquire the Age of Consent and they will answer accordingly. Hope I helped you guys.
Date Sun, 27 Feb 2000 044855 -0500 (EST)
VA 18.2-361, which is quoted on your web site, may be changed soon. There was
a flyer up at Club 216 about HB 718 which has passed the VA house but not yet the senate.
HB 718 reduces "Crimes Against Nature" from a Felony to a Misdemeanor; this is a
start but woefully inadequate. "Crimes against nature" is the hatemonger's
euphemism for oral sex, anal sex, and beasteallity. This bill would ammend 18.2-361 to
reduce oral and anal sex from a Class 6 felony to a Class 4 misdemeanor. The bill was
modified in committee so that beastiality would still be a felony. Many states, and the
district of columbia, have repealled these absurd two century old statutes; fewer than
half the states now have sodomy laws (banning consensual oral and anal sex). DC Mayor
Sharon Pratt Kelly announced the repeal of DC's sodomy law at the last march on
washington. Text of the bill can be found at
http//leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=001&typ=bil&val=HB718
Voice your support to Emily Couric at emilycouric@rlc.net.
Subject: VA state law wrong?
Date: Wed, 04 Aug 1999 23:10:23 -0400
From:
Hello. I found the following on the Virginia Legislative Service. To look up the law
yourself, go to leg1.state.va.us and click on Search VA Code and search for 18.2-371.
Here's the information. I'm not a lawyer, but this seems to mean that the age of consent
is 18 not 15.
§ 18.2-371
Causing or encouraging acts rendering children delinquent, abused, etc.; penalty
Any person eighteen years of age or older, including the parent of any
child, who (i) willfully contributes to, encourages, or causes any act,
omission, or condition which renders a
child delinquent, in need of services, in need of supervision, or abused or neglected as
defined in §16.1-228, or (ii) engages in consensual sexual intercourse with a
child fifteen or older not his spouse, child, or grandchild, shall be
guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. This section
shall not be construed as repealing, modifying, or in any way affecting §§18.2-18,
18.2-19, 18.2-61, 18.2-63, 18.2-66, and 18.2-347.
§ 18.2-63
Carnal knowledge of child between thirteen and fifteen years of age
If any person carnally knows, without the use of force, a child thirteen years of age or older but under fifteen years of age, such person shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.
However, if such child is thirteen years of age or older but under fifteen years of age and consents to sexual intercourse and the accused is a minor and such consenting child is three years or more the accused's junior, the accused shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony. If such consenting child is less than three years the accused's junior, the accused shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.
In calculating whether such child is three years or more a junior of the accused minor, the actual dates of birth of the child and the accused, respectively, shall be used.
For the purposes of this section, (i) a child under the age of thirteen years shall not be considered a consenting child and (ii) "carnal knowledge" includes the acts of sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anallingus, anal intercourse, and animate and inanimate object sexual penetration.
§ 18.2-344
Fornication
Any person, not being married, who voluntarily shall have sexual intercourse with any other person, shall be guilty of fornication, punishable as a Class 4 misdemeanor.
§ 18.2-361
Crimes against nature
A. If any person carnally knows in any manner any brute animal, or carnally knows any male or female person by the anus or by or with the mouth, or voluntarily submits to such carnal knowledge, he or she shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony, except as provided in subsection B.
B. Any person who carnally knows by the anus or by or with the mouth his daughter or granddaughter, son or grandson, brother or sister, or father or mother shall be guilty of a Class 5 felony. However, if a parent or grandparent commits any such act with his child or grandchild and such child or grandchild is at least thirteen but less than eighteen years of age at the time of the offense, such parent or grandparent shall be guilty of a Class 3 felony.
The Code of Virginia
http://leg1.state.va.us/000/src.htm
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