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When a fifteen-year-old gets married, would it no longer be statutory rape if her husband chose to have intercourse with her (consensually)? I couldn't really find a clear answer online.

I am of course asking about the US states that allow child marriage to begin with, and under the assumption that the marriage was legal.

Jen
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theindigoray
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1 Answers1

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See Kaya Van Roost, Miranda Horn & Alissa Koski, "Child Marriage or Statutory Rape? A Comparison of Law and Practice Across the United States" (2022) 70:3 Journal of Adolescent Health.

States fall into several groups:

  • those that have banned marriage before the age of 18 (e.g. Pennsylvania)
  • those which allow child marriage, but with no marital exception to statutory rape law (e.g. Oregon)
  • those with various degrees of exception to statutory rape law within a marriage (e.g. New York, which exempts all marriages from statutory rape laws)

A map

In 33 states, marital exemptions to statutory rape laws created legal avenues for sexual relationships with children that would have been punishable crimes outside of marriage.

Jen
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