What is the legal Age of Consent in Texas?
The legal Age of Consent in Texas is 17. The definition of “Age of Consent” in Texas is when a person may legally consent to engage in sexual activity with another person. Texas Penal Code states that once a person becomes 17 years of age they are capable to give consent for sexual activity with another person.
Texas Penal Code Section 21.11 and Penal Code Section 22.011 defines the legal Age of Consent in Texas. Penal Code Section 21.11 prohibits sexual conduct with a child younger than the age of 17 and Penal Code Section 22.011 defines sexual assault of a child and defines a child as anyone under the age of 17.
Once a person is no longer under the age of 17 they are considered in Texas to be capable of giving consent for sexual activity.
If you have any questions about the legal the legal Age of Consent in Texas, please call and talk to one of the Sex Crimes Lawyers at Dunham & Jones.
Age of Consent Outside Texas
Not all states share the same age of consent. The age of consent can range from 14 to 18 years of age across the United States. Some states may have special rules if one of the persons is over the legal age of consent, but under 21.
The legal Age of Consent for states bordering Texas:
- Arkansas: 16 – Any person under the age of consent is deemed to be mentally incapable of consenting to sex. Thus, if an adult has sex with a minor below the age of consent, the adult may be charged with statutory rape. In Arkansas, a person must be at least 16 years old in order to consent to sex.
- Louisiana: 17 – For example, in terms of a 3 years age difference, a 13 year old can consent to sex with a person who is 16 years old, but a 15 year old may not consent to sex with a 18 year old. However, a person 17 or older can consent to have sex with a person of any age.
- New Mexico: 17 – In New Mexico, the age of consent is 17 years old. If an adult (an individual over the age of 18) has sex with a minor between the ages of 13 and 16, the adult may be prosecuted for 4th degree criminal sexual penetration.
- Oklahoma: 16 – In Oklahoma, the age of consent for sexual intercourse is 16 years old for both males and females. The age of consent is the minimum legal age in which a person has the mental capacity to consent to sexual intercourse with another person. This mainly refers to a minor engaging in intercourse with adult.
Legal Age of Consent in the United States
STATE
AGE OF CONSENT
Alabama
16: Age of consent is incredibly important in Alabama. An individual who is 19 years old or older has sexual contact with someone who is younger than 16 but older than 12 has committed sexual abuse.
Alaska
16: Under the Alaska age of consent laws, it is second degree sexual abuse for someone aged 16 or older to engage in sexual penetration with an individual who is a) at least 3 years younger and b) aged 13, 14 or 15 years old.
Arizona
18: In Arizona, statutory rape is consensual sexual or oral intercourse with an individual who is below Arizona’s age of consent. The law suggests that those who are below Arizona’s age of consent, which is 18 years old, are unable to consent to sexual activity with an individual who is older than them.
Arkansas
16: Any person under the age of consent is deemed to be mentally incapable of consenting to sex. Thus, if an adult has sex with a minor below the age of consent, the adult may be charged with statutory rape. In Arkansas, a person must be at least 16 years old in order to consent to sex.
California
18: The age of consent in California is 18. It is illegal for anyone to engage in sexual intercourse with a minor (someone under the age of 18), unless they are that person’s spouse.
Colorado
17: Close-in-age: In Colorado, a person who is under 15 can legally consent to have sex with someone who is no more than 4 years older. Additionally, a person under 17 can legally consent to sex with a person who is no more than 10 years older.
Connecticut
16: Thus, instead of including force as a criminal element, theses crimes make it illegal for anyone to engage in sexual intercourse with anyone below a certain age, other than his spouse. The age of consent varies by state, with most states, including Connecticut, setting it at age 16.
Delaware
18: Having sex with someone under 18, if the offender is over 30, is also considered rape. Compared to some other states, the penalties for violating Delaware’s age of consent laws are very harsh. A “typical” statutory rape offense could carry a prison sentence of 10 years.
District of Columbia
16: In the District of Columbia, the age of consent for sex is 16 years old. Unlike some other states, the District of Columbia does not have a separate law for homosexual conduct. Furthermore, the law is written in gender-neutral language, so it appears to apply equally to heterosexual as well as homosexual conduct.
Florida
18: Florida’s age of consent is 18, though the law contains a provision allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to consent to having sex with someone age 16 to 23. To qualify for removal under “Romeo and Juliet,” the victim must have been at least 14 years old and the offender no more than four years older.
Georgia
16: In Georgia, the age of consent to engage in sex is 16. However, there can be no conviction for statutory rape in Georgia based only on the unsupported testimony of the victim. There must be some additional evidence.
Hawaii
16: In Hawaii, the legal age of consent to have sex is 16 years old. However, there is a close in age exception that allows those who are 14 years or older to have sex with someone who is less than 5 years older. Thus, a 14 year old cannot have sex with a 19 year old unless they are married.
Idaho
18: Sexual intercourse with penetration with a female under the age of 16 amounts to rape under the Idaho law. Moreover, if the female is 16 or 17, and the male is 3 years older, that man has also committed rape. Under the Idaho system, if the victim is under 16, any sexual conduct will amount to lewd conduct.
Illinois
17: The 16 year old is below the legal age of consent. In Illinois, when a person commits a sexual act with someone under the age of 17, but over the age of 13, and the person is less than 5 years older than the minor, he or she is guilty of criminal sexual abuse – even if both participants believed the sex was consensual.
Indiana
16: For years in Indiana, the age at which a person could legally consent to have sex was 16. But lawyers for young defendants accused of having sex with 14- and 15-year-olds now can pose a defense against charges of sexual misconduct with a minor.
Iowa
16: In Iowa, the general age of consent to engage in sex is 16. However, females may consent to sex at age 14 so long as their partner is no more than 5 years older. Homosexual and Heterosexual Conduct. Unlike some states, the Iowa age of consent law applies equally to both homosexual and heterosexual conduct.
Kansas
16: In Kansas, the age of consent for sexual activity is 16. The age of consent refers to the age in which an individual has the mental capacity to consent to sex with another. This age is typically imposed for minors to protect them.
Kentucky
16: Rape in the Third Degree. A person in Kentucky commits third degree rape by engaging in sexual intercourse when the other person is: under the age of 16 and the defendant is 21 years old or older. Under the age of 18 and the defendant is 21 years old or older and is the victim’s foster parent, or.
Louisiana
17: Misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile is sexual intercourse with consent between someone age 17 to 19 and someone age 15 to 17 when the difference in their ages is greater than two years.
Maine
16: The age of sexual consent in Maine is 16 years old. This applies to both heterosexual and homosexual conduct. 16, as the age of consent, is the age at which a person may legally consent to sex with another person aged 21 or older in Maine.
Maryland
16: In Maryland, persons aged between 14 and 16 may consent to sex as long as the other partner is not more than 4 years older. Maryland’s age of consent law applies differently if the older partner is in a position of trust or authority over the younger partner.
Massachusetts
16: The justices based their ruling on a Massachusetts law that established the legal age of sexual consent as 16. The law states that so long as the sexual relationship is not otherwise “unlawful” or with a “chaste” individual, an adult may “entice” a minor age sixteen and older to engage in sexual intercourse.
Michigan
16: In Michigan, the age of consent is 16, and people who engage in sexual activity with children who are underage may be convicted of statutory rape (also called criminal sexual conduct). Michigan’s laws also prohibit teachers from engaging in sex with students aged 16 or 17 years old.
Minnesota
16: Regardless of the age of the perpetrator, it is always statutory rape in Minnesota if the victim is under the age of 13. If the person under the age of consent is between 13 and 16 years old, they can legally consent to sex with someone that is less than 48 months (4 years) older than them.
Mississippi
16: In Mississippi, people who engage in sexual activity with children under the state’s age of consent (16 years old) may be convicted of statutory rape or sexual battery.
Missouri
17: It is legal for a person to have sex with someone who is under the age of consent so long as both parties are at least 14 years old and under 21 years old. However, if the defendant is 21 years old or older and the victim is under the age of 17, then it is second degree statutory rape or statutory sodomy.
Montana
16: Under Montana’s laws, rape is called “sexual intercourse without consent” and the crime includes statutory rape. A person who engages in sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 16 commits the crime of sexual intercourse without consent.
Nebraska
17: The law prohibits an individual 18 years old and younger from being convicted of statutory rape. For example, if a 17 year old had consensual sex with a 15 year old it would not be considered statutory rape. Assuming that the victim is over the age of legal consent in Nebraska, consent may be a viable defense.
Nevada
16: Pursuant to NRS 200.364(5) the age of consent is 16 years old in Nevada. Accordingly, sexual conduct between the parties presently is legal. However, when the male was 19 and the female was 15 sexual conduct between the two constituted statutory sexual seduction (commonly known as statutory rape in most states).
New Hampshire
16: The legal age of consent in New Hampshire is 16. It also applies when a person is in a position of authority over another and coerces that other person to engage in sexual contact with the actor or with him/herself in the actor’s presence. MYTH: Sexual assault is motivated by sexual desire.
New Jersey
16: In New Jersey, the age of consent for sexual conduct is 16 years old. This applies to both heterosexual and homosexual conduct. As a general matter, this means that a person who is 16 years old can generally consent to have sex with any adult, regardless of age.
New Mexico
17: In New Mexico, the age of consent is 17 years old. If an adult (an individual over the age of 18) has sex with a minor between the ages of 13 and 16, the adult may be prosecuted for 4th degree criminal sexual penetration.
New York
17: In New York, the age of consent for sex is 17 years old. This applies to men and women, and applies to both heterosexual and homosexual conduct. New York has allowances for minors who are below the age of consent but are close to the same age. This close-in-age exception exists because statutory rape laws are meant to prevent minors from being sexually exploited by adults. It is not meant to punish individuals who are close in age for engaging in consensual, non-exploitative sexual conduct.
North Carolina
16: In North Carolina, the age of consent for sexual intercourse is 16 years old. However, there are some notable exceptions. School Teacher: An employee of a school cannot have any sexual activity with any student at that school, unless they are married.
North Dakota
18: In North Dakota, the age of consent for sexual intercourse is 18 years old. This applies to both males and females, and to both heterosexual and homosexual conduct. Violating age of consent laws is considered statutory rape.
Ohio
16: Sex with someone under the age of 16 in Ohio is presumptively statutory rape. Ohio’s age of consent law currently only applies to heterosexual sexual encounters.
Oklahoma
16: In Oklahoma, the age of consent is 16, and the law recognizes an age differential of two years. This means that no person can be convicted of rape or rape by instrumentation with anyone over the age of 14, with that person’s consent, unless the defendant was older than 18 at the time the sexual act occurred.
Oregon
18: In Oregon, the age of consent for sex is 18 years old. This applies to everyone; it applies to both men and women, and to both heterosexual and homosexual conduct.
Pennsylvania
16: The age of consent in Pennsylvania is 16 years of age for statutory sexual assault and 18 years for corruption of minors. Teenagers aged 13, 14 and 15 may or may not be able to legally engage in sexual activity with partners who are less than 4 years older.
Rhode Island
16: In Rhode Island a person is guilty of statutory rape if he or she is over the age of eighteen (18) and the victim is between fourteen (14) years old and under the age of consent which is sixteen (16).
South Carolina
16: The legal age of consent in South Carolina is 16. However, individuals as young as 14 years old are able to consent to have sex with a partner who is 18 years old or younger. Submitting to coercion, especially of an aggravated nature, is not consent.
South Dakota
16: If you’re over the age of 16 in South Dakota any consensual relationship is legal, but when it comes to child pornography it’s a different story. While a 16 year old is old enough to consent to a sexual relationship they could face a felony child pornography charge if they are caught sexting.
Tennessee
18: Tennessee – Age of Consent. (a) Statutory rape is sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant or of the defendant by the victim when the victim is at least thirteen (13) but less than eighteen (18) years of age and the defendant is at least four (4) years older than the victim.
Texas
17: The age of consent in Texas is 17. The minimum age is 14 with an age differential of 3 years; thus, those who are at least 14 years of age can legally have sex with those less than 3 years older.
Utah
18: For women, the age of consent in Utah is 16 years old. While for men, it is 18 years old. However, for women between the ages of 16 and 18, there are some restrictions. No person under the age of 18, male or female, can legally consent to sex with a person who is more than 10 years older than the minor.
Vermont
16: The age of consent for sexual conduct in Vermont is 16 years old. Vermont is among the very few states with a single age of consent. Vermont also has what is referred to as a “close-in-age” law and a Romeo and Juliet exception.
Virginia
18: Individuals aged 17 or younger in Virginia are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape. Virginia statutory rape law is violated when a person has consensual sexual intercourse with an individual under age 18.
Washington
16: In Washington State, the age of consent for sex is 16 years old. At this age, a person can consent to sex with any adult, regardless of the age difference between them. Washington’s age of consent laws apply to both heterosexual and homosexual conduct.
West Virginia
16: West Virginia statutory rape law is violated when a person has consensual sexual intercourse with an individual under age 16, so long as the offender is more than 4 years older and not married to the victim.
Wisconsin
18: Under Wisconsin law, the age of consent is 18. Consensual sexual contact with a person 16 or 17 years of age is a “criminal offense,” albeit a misdemeanor only.
Wyoming
18: The age of consent for sex is 16 years old for women, while it is 18 years old for men. Having sex with a minor below the age of consent is known as statutory rape. The age of consent law in Wyoming only specifically addresses heterosexual conduct.
Chapter 21. Sexual Offenses
Sec. 21.11. INDECENCY WITH A CHILD.
- A person commits an offense if, with a child younger than 17 years of age, whether the child is of the same or opposite sex, the person:
- engages in sexual contact with the child or causes the child to engage in sexual contact; or
- with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person:
- exposes the person’s anus or any part of the person’s genitals, knowing the child is present; or
- causes the child to expose the child’s anus or any part of the child’s genitals.
- It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor:
- was not more than three years older than the victim and of the opposite sex;
- did not use duress, force, or a threat against the victim at the time of the offense; and
- at the time of the offense:
- was not required under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, to register for life as a sex offender; or
- was not a person who under Chapter 62 had a reportable conviction or adjudication for an offense under this section.
- b-1. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor was the spouse of the child at the time of the offense.
- In this section, “sexual contact” means the following acts, if committed with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person:
- any touching by a person, including touching through clothing, of the anus, breast, or any part of the genitals of a child; or
- any touching of any part of the body of a child, including touching through clothing, with the anus, breast, or any part of the genitals of a person.
- An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a felony of the second degree and an offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a felony of the third degree.
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 472, ch. 202, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1981; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 1028, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1415, Sec. 23, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 739, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by:
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 260 (H.B. 549), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Chapter 22. Assaultive Offenses
Sec. 22.011. SEXUAL ASSAULT.
- A person commits an offense if:
- the person intentionally or knowingly:
- causes the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of another person by any means, without that person’s consent;
- causes the penetration of the mouth of another person by the sexual organ of the actor, without that person’s consent; or
- causes the sexual organ of another person, without that person’s consent, to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor; or
- regardless of whether the person knows the age of the child at the time of the offense, the person intentionally or knowingly:
- causes the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of a child by any means;
- causes the penetration of the mouth of a child by the sexual organ of the actor;
- causes the sexual organ of a child to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor;
- causes the anus of a child to contact the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor; or
- causes the mouth of a child to contact the anus or sexual organ of another person, including the actor.
- A sexual assault under Subsection (a)(1) is without the consent of the other person if:
- the actor compels the other person to submit or participate by the use of physical force, violence, or coercion;
- the actor compels the other person to submit or participate by threatening to use force or violence against the other person or to cause harm to the other person, and the other person believes that the actor has the present ability to execute the threat;
- the other person has not consented and the actor knows the other person is unconscious or physically unable to resist;
- the actor knows that as a result of mental disease or defect the other person is at the time of the sexual assault incapable either of appraising the nature of the act or of resisting it;
- the other person has not consented and the actor knows the other person is unaware that the sexual assault is occurring;
- the actor has intentionally impaired the other person’s power to appraise or control the other person’s conduct by administering any substance without the other person’s knowledge;
- the actor compels the other person to submit or participate by threatening to use force or violence against any person, and the other person believes that the actor has the ability to execute the threat;
- the actor is a public servant who coerces the other person to submit or participate;
- the actor is a mental health services provider or a health care services provider who causes the other person, who is a patient or former patient of the actor, to submit or participate by exploiting the other person’s emotional dependency on the actor;
- the actor is a clergyman who causes the other person to submit or participate by exploiting the other person’s emotional dependency on the clergyman in the clergyman’s professional character as spiritual adviser; or
- the actor is an employee of a facility where the other person is a resident, unless the employee and resident are formally or informally married to each other under Chapter 2, Family Code.
- In this section:
- “Child” means a person younger than 17 years of age.
- “Spouse” means a person who is legally married to another.
- “Health care services provider” means:
- a physician licensed under Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code;
- a chiropractor licensed under Chapter 201, Occupations Code;
- a physical therapist licensed under Chapter 453, Occupations Code;
- a physician assistant licensed under Chapter 204, Occupations Code; or
- a registered nurse, a vocational nurse, or an advanced practice nurse licensed under Chapter 301, Occupations Code.
- “Mental health services provider” means an individual, licensed or unlicensed, who performs or purports to perform mental health services, including a:
- licensed social worker as defined by Section 505.002, Occupations Code;
- chemical dependency counselor as defined by Section 504.001, Occupations Code;
- licensed professional counselor as defined by Section 503.002, Occupations Code;
- licensed marriage and family therapist as defined by Section 502.002, Occupations Code;
- member of the clergy;
- psychologist offering psychological services as defined by Section 501.003, Occupations Code; or
- special officer for mental health assignment certified under Section 1701.404, Occupations Code.
- “Employee of a facility” means a person who is an employee of a facility defined by Section 250.001, Health and Safety Code, or any other person who provides services for a facility for compensation, including a contract laborer.
- It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(2) that the conduct consisted of medical care for the child and did not include any contact between the anus or sexual organ of the child and the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of the actor or a third party.
- It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(2):
- that the actor was the spouse of the child at the time of the offense; or
- that:
- the actor was not more than three years older than the victim and at the time of the offense:
- was not required under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, to register for life as a sex offender; or
- was not a person who under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, had a reportable conviction or adjudication for an offense under this section; and
- the victim:
- was a child of 14 years of age or older; and
- was not a person whom the actor was prohibited from marrying or purporting to marry or with whom the actor was prohibited from living under the appearance of being married under Section 25.01.
- An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree, except that an offense under this section is a felony of the first degree if the victim was a person whom the actor was prohibited from marrying or purporting to marry or with whom the actor was prohibited from living under the appearance of being married under Section 25.01.
