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Statutory Rape Question

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clk1985

Junior Member
Okay, I have a question regarding a friend I know (this isn't me). He is in Missouri and when he was 19, he slept with a girl that was either 14 or 15 (I think she was close to being 15?) and they went out for about a year or so. It was the girl's idea to lie to her dad about his age, and my friend went with it even though he was wanting to be truthful - which might have ended the relationship anyhow, which he didn't want. After her dad eventually figured everything out, they broke up but remained friends and still talk and are fairly close to my knowledge, but her dad still dwells on a lot of this stuff and says "I should have taken him to jail" and things like that. From what I can see, the age of consent in MO is 14 as long as you're not 21 or over, which he wasn't. After they were split up, she would steal her sisters car and come over, and finally he had to tell her to stop coming over until she was 17 because he was risking legal problems, and she kept coming over a while after that.

It's been 5 years since all of this happened, and my friend just fears one day they might try to persue charges because they are short of money and my friend's gone on to find a decent job and has made a lot of improvements in his life (he admits this was a HUGE mistake). She's been with various other guys and has a child from one of them as well.

I'm just wondering if they would even have a chance for a case or not given it seems the age of consent is 14 in Missouri. He wasn't over 21 as I'm almost positive he had already stopped things with her by then. (He was glad when they broke up) Aside from how he made an obvious mistake, are there any thoughts on this?
 


The Occultist

Senior Member
I don't know where you're getting you're information, but I just checked no less than 5 different sources (Google is your friend), and they all showed the age of consent in Missouri being 17, not 14.

If it has been 5 years since it happened, there really isn't anything to worry about.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I think what clk1985 is referring to is the Missouri statute that says a person under the age of 21 cannot be charged with statutory rape for having consensual sex with a person 14 or 15. I couldn't tell what the statute of limitations was for Missouri on this, or if it has changed recently, because I know there are efforts underway to get the SOL extended on all crimes involving sex with minors - but I came across a 3 year SOL and a 10 year SOL - I think the 3 year applies in this case?
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
And the answer is: consult with a criminal defense attorney in that state.

Missouri has exceptionally convoluted laws about sex....
 

clk1985

Junior Member
That is another question I forgot to ask - what is the amount of time they would have to file a charge? Given it's been over 5 years, I wasn't sure if they could even do anything. Most of my sources said something like this:
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_North_America#Missouri)

"The age of consent in Missouri is 17, however there exist close in age exceptions which allow those under 21 to engage in sexual activity with those 14 or older."

I also checked the ageofconsent web site, and it said "14/17" for Missouri, which I assume is saying the same thing.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Seniorjudge has the best advice - check with a Missouri attorney on this, because there are various sex crime divisions in Missouri law.
The age of consent, as The Occulist said, is 17 in Missouri, however Missouri DOES have an "age exceptions" area which states that anyone under the age of 21 cannot be charged with statutory rape for having consensual sex with someone 14 years of age or older.
However, if the under 21 year old has sex with someone under the age of 17 (age of consent), the 21 year old is committing the crime of child molestation in the second degree. It appears that child molestation in the 2nd degree is a class A misdemeanor, but I could not locate what the penalties are for a class A misdemeanor, or what the statute of limitations is for charging someone with child molestation.

Missouri and other states are revising their laws on sex crimes and the information I have provided may not be the most reliable. It is definitely best to seek out a Missouri lawyer who can give you accurate and up-to-date information.
 

clk1985

Junior Member
Thank you for the responses so far. I did call a lawyer I found from this site, and explained the story, and he said it doesn't sound like I have too much to worry about. He said if she came forward and said something, it might be considered, but if her dad knew already for years then he could not do much now. Given I'm friends with her, I figure she would not do something like that.
 

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