Adultery: Proof and Statutes in MD

[Ogre]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

My spouse has had numerous internet affairs and I recently found out that in one instance she made out with one of the individuals. Does this constitute adultery in Maryland and what is the statute of limitations on adultery in Maryland? The making out happened 6 months ago and I only found out a couple of days ago. I sent a message to the guy asking if they made out and he freely admitted it and also sent a message to his wife asking about it and she stated that her husband had confessed about it to her while in rehab.

The phone she uses was purchased in full by me - I've accessed it and taken screenshots as proof of the affairs. Can I be charged with a crime for that given that I paid for the phone (I feel that because I own the phone it would be no different than monitoring a childs cell phone)?

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

My spouse has had numerous internet affairs and I recently found out that in one instance she made out with one of the individuals. Does this constitute adultery in Maryland and what is the statute of limitations on adultery in Maryland? The making out happened 6 months ago and I only found out a couple of days ago. I sent a message to the guy asking if they made out and he freely admitted it and also sent a message to his wife asking about it and she stated that her husband had confessed about it to her while in rehab.

The phone she uses was purchased in full by me - I've accessed it and taken screenshots as proof of the affairs. Can I be charged with a crime for that given that I paid for the phone (I feel that because I own the phone it would be no different than monitoring a childs cell phone)?

Based on what you posted here I don't blame your spouse for looking elsewhere for affection. Hire an attorney.

 

[Shadowbunny]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

My spouse has had numerous internet affairs and I recently found out that in one instance she made out with one of the individuals. Does this constitute adultery in Maryland and what is the statute of limitations on adultery in Maryland? The making out happened 6 months ago and I only found out a couple of days ago. I sent a message to the guy asking if they made out and he freely admitted it and also sent a message to his wife asking about it and she stated that her husband had confessed about it to her while in rehab.

The phone she uses was purchased in full by me - I've accessed it and taken screenshots as proof of the affairs. Can I be charged with a crime for that given that I paid for the phone (I feel that because I own the phone it would be no different than monitoring a childs cell phone)?

Great Caesar's Ghost!!!! What is wrong with you?!!! Your wife is not a child, so it is TOTALLY different.

Kissing someone else is far from adultery. And proving adultery is no easy task. Rather than snooping on your wife, why don't you just file for divorce and get it over?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

My spouse has had numerous internet affairs and I recently found out that in one instance she made out with one of the individuals. Does this constitute adultery in Maryland and what is the statute of limitations on adultery in Maryland? The making out happened 6 months ago and I only found out a couple of days ago. I sent a message to the guy asking if they made out and he freely admitted it and also sent a message to his wife asking about it and she stated that her husband had confessed about it to her while in rehab.

The phone she uses was purchased in full by me - I've accessed it and taken screenshots as proof of the affairs. Can I be charged with a crime for that given that I paid for the phone (I feel that because I own the phone it would be no different than monitoring a childs cell phone)?

The fact that you paid for the phone is not a "pass" to violate someone's privacy. Making out with someone is not the same as adultery.

It was incredibly tacky of you to tell his wife about the making out. It was very mean spirited.

Just file for divorce and get it over with. You are not going to have any significant advantage over her in the divorce if you can prove "fault", all you are going to do is make things more expensive and hostile for both of you.

 

[Taxing Matters]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

My spouse has had numerous internet affairs and I recently found out that in one instance she made out with one of the individuals. Does this constitute adultery in Maryland and what is the statute of limitations on adultery in Maryland? The making out happened 6 months ago and I only found out a couple of days ago. I sent a message to the guy asking if they made out and he freely admitted it and also sent a message to his wife asking about it and she stated that her husband had confessed about it to her while in rehab.

The phone she uses was purchased in full by me - I've accessed it and taken screenshots as proof of the affairs. Can I be charged with a crime for that given that I paid for the phone (I feel that because I own the phone it would be no different than monitoring a childs cell phone)?

I’ll tell you here the same thing I told you on the other forum where you asked this. Whether it amounts to adultry depends on what you mean by “making out”? Did they just have sex chat over the internet/phone? Did they ever meet in person? If they did, what did they do? Did they ever have actual physical sex?

Since you are asking about the statute of limitations I am guessing you are asking about the crime of adultery. If so, there is pretty much zero chance of your spouse being charged with that offense. It hasn’t been charged in decades. Indeed, the only reported appellate case involving this statute was issued over 100 years ago. The penalty for the crime is simply a fine of $10. While that was something of a considerable sum when the crime was first added to the Maryland statutes in 1904, it is a trivial sum today; parking and traffic tickets net higher fines than that, and no prosecutor today would bother with the considerable expense that would be involved in a criminal trial for this. Moreover, there is a bill now in the Maryland legislature to repeal the crime altogether. It has passed the House and is now being considered by the Senate. The statute of limitations for this offense is one year from the time the crime was committed.

Nor is there any longer a civil claim for money damages available for this. Maryland has eliminated civil causes of action for adultery and criminal conversation.

Adultry as a claim in divorce still exists. But adultery would require proving they had actual physical sexual intercourse. Chatting about sex on the internet or over the phone would not be enough to be adultery.

 

[stealth2]

Apt username.

 

[Ogre]

To those being critical I won't try to explain things any further other than to say I may not have been clear in my intial post: emotions and all that but also, emotions and all that.

Taxing Matters thank you for your insight. As I mentioned in the other forum I found out last week that 6 months ago she "made out" with one of the men (kissing each other in his car before he asked her to get a hotel room which they both say she declined). I have personally contacted him and he has admitted they made out, his wife has stated that once she got him into rehab he admitted they made out, and my wife has now admitted that they made out. I'm not looking to benefit financially from things, I'm simply trying to find out if I would be able to bypass the 12 month seperation period. Thanks.

 

[Taxing Matters]

To those being critical I won't try to explain things any further other than to say I may not have been clear in my intial post: emotions and all that but also, emotions and all that.

Taxing Matters thank you for your insight. As I mentioned in the other forum I found out last week that 6 months ago she "made out" with one of the men (kissing each other in his car before he asked her to get a hotel room which they both say she declined). I have personally contacted him and he has admitted they made out, his wife has stated that once she got him into rehab he admitted they made out, and my wife has now admitted that they made out. I'm not looking to benefit financially from things, I'm simply trying to find out if I would be able to bypass the 12 month seperation period. Thanks.

You’ve probably already seen my reply to this before, but I'll include it here to save others from looking for the information and responding. Simply kissing is not enough for adultery. They have to have engaged in sexual intercourse for there to be adultery. “We believe that ‘adultery’ as used in the divorce statute is not restricted to its common law meaning but has the more general meaning of voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a partner other than the lawful husband or wife. See The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. We find this to be self evidence in the opinions of the Court of Appeals dealing with adultery as a cause for divorce.” Flood v. Flood, 24 Md. App. 395, 397, 330 A.2d 715, 717 (FN 1) (1975). Since a finding of adultery against your wife would put her at fault for the divorce, that would generally reduce her financial compensation in the divorce, especially entitlement to alimony. As a result, I would be surprised if she would concede the issue of adultery just to get the divorce over sooner. Discuss with your divorce attorney your options.

 

[Ogre]

You’ve probably already seen my reply to this before, but I'll include it here to save others from looking for the information and responding. Simply kissing is not enough for adultery. They have to have engaged in sexual intercourse for there to be adultery. “We believe that ‘adultery’ as used in the divorce statute is not restricted to its common law meaning but has the more general meaning of voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a partner other than the lawful husband or wife. See The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. We find this to be self evidence in the opinions of the Court of Appeals dealing with adultery as a cause for divorce.” Flood v. Flood, 24 Md. App. 395, 397, 330 A.2d 715, 717 (FN 1) (1975). Since a finding of adultery against your wife would put her at fault for the divorce, that would generally reduce her financial compensation in the divorce, especially entitlement to alimony. As a result, I would be surprised if she would concede the issue of adultery just to get the divorce over sooner. Discuss with your divorce attorney your options.

Thanks Taxing Matters. This helps me in my decision on how to proceed.