Can A 16 Year Old Get Charged

[purekiki]

can a 16 year old lad get charged for sleeping with a 15 year old girl and now shes pregnant and hes standing by her and he will pay for his child and her parents want to report it to the police what would happen

[dannyk13]

As the lad has reached the age of criminal responsibility he could be charged with having sex with an underage girl

[murraymints]

under the legal age of consent ..it would be considered statutory rape and he would be held accountable legally..

[hc4361]

It is an offence but it is very rare for a youth of 16 to be prosecuted for having sex with his 15 year old girlfriend especially if the girl will not make a complaint.

[dannyk13]

Minty, although the girl cannot give consent in law, I doubt that ,in these circumstances, he would be charged with statutory rape.

[murraymints]

unless the girl's parents pursue a complaint ? as she is under age and parents are legal guardians....perhaps a legal beagle will come along...

[purekiki]

her parents are saying if he dont do everything they want him too they will call the police so that means he has to do everything they say for the next 18 years

[dannyk13]

18 years??

[jno]

with a one-year age difference like that, I think he'd probably just get a caution and a year on the sex offenders register. (I'm talking about the UK.) I have no idea what the parents want to achieve but it seems an unwise course of action.

[hc4361]

Statutory rape only applies if the child is under the age of 13. (S.5 Sexual Offences Act 2003)

"It is an offence for anyone to have any sexual activity with a person under the age of 16. However, Home Office guidance [1] is clear that there is no intention to prosecute teenagers under the age of 16 where both mutually agree and where they are of a similar age"
http://www.fpa.org.uk/factsheets/law-on-sex

[fiction-factory]

Next 18 years? Was that what her parents have said? Why 18 years- is that until their grandchild reaches age 18?

[hc4361]

He won't be put on the Sex Offenders' Register.

[Canary42]

Sounds like a modern version of shotgun wedding - it will only end in tears.

[purekiki]

yes the next 18 years of his son/daughters life yes in uk here and thank you very much with all your replys

[hc4361]

The girl's parents are angry, frightened, worried and feeling guilty. Give them time to calm down.

[jno]

sounds as if they're blackmailing him, which is an offence in itself.

[murraymints]

sounds like the lad would be well advised to stay clear from such controlling parents..as stated although technically an offence has taken place..unless the girl makes a complaint it is unlikely that much would happen..so make a decision time...if he wants to stay with girl and child he only has to wait 'till she is 16 and she can do what she wants herself...in the meantime I would give the controlling, threatening parents a wide berth !! good luck to them whatever they decide

[purekiki]

thank you again all for your time luckly she will be 16 in a month they have been together for a year and half im trying to find the best advice to give them but didnt want them to be able to blackmail him all the time

[Buenchico]

It's only 'statutory rape' if the victim is under 13 years of age. [Sexual Offences Act 2003, Section 5]

The relevant offence here is 'sexual activity with a child'. [Sexual Offences Act 2003, Section 9]. Where an offender is 18 years of age or older the maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment. Where (as here) the offender is under 18 the maximum penalty is 5 years imprisonment. [Sexual Offences Act, Section 13].

Whether the CPS would decide to launch a prosecution is difficult to say. In my teaching days (1970s and 80s) quite a few 15yo girls became pregnant (with the identity of the baby's teenage father undisputed) but I can't remember a single prosecution. However attitudes have changed and it's possible that the CPS might decide to charge the offender.

Even so, if the girl was a willing participant (even though she can't legally have given consent), then a custodial sentence would not be considered. That means that, if the male is a first-time offender, the only possible sentence would be a Youth Rehabilitation Order:
http://www.inbrief.co.uk/court-judgements/youth-rehabilitation-order.htm#

[Peter Pedant]

under the old act ( god I feel my age ) Sexual offences act 1957
if a man under 24 has sex with a girl under 16 ( so your son would qualify ) then there is a defence to unlawful sexual intercourse

but the defence automatically means a guilty plea to indecent assault

Has that gone the way or the world or did it survive the 2003 act ?
anyone know ?

[hc4361]

What was the defence, Peter?