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Question by Philip:

Legal ages to have sex? (USA)?

A friend asked me if it would be considered statutory rape if a 16 year old had sex with a 20 year old. I told her what they taught me in high school a few years ago (I'm 21). My Health teacher made it very clear to us that if both partners are under 18, they can legally have (consensual) sex as long as the age difference is less than 4 years; If both partners are over 18, they can legally have sex no matter what the age difference; and if one partner is over 18 and the other is not, they CANNOT have sex without it being legally considered rape.

Now, after searching online to confirm this, all I've found on the matter is very different than what I was taught. Apparently, from what I've read, the "age of consent" at which a person can legally consent to having sex without it being considered rape varies from state to state, and in most states is 16. This meaning that anyone who is 16 can have consensual sex with a partner of ANY age and it would not be legally considered rape. It apparently also means that anyone under the age of 16 cannot legally engage in sex without it being considered statutory rape.

What I'm asking is for anyone to confirm to me if this is true as I understand it, and also if anyone could shed some insight as to why I would be taught something so drastically different, that would be great. Thanks a lot in advance.




Best answer:

Answer by Snuggles
17

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