

The allowed age difference is typically in the two to five-year range.

As of July 2019, 25 states and the District of Columbia have a close-in-age of exemption, and 25 states do not. This age-dependent exemption is also known as the "Romeo and Juliet law" and is designed to prevent the prosecution of underage couples who engage in consensual sex when: both participants are close-in-age and one or both are below the age of consent. Some states stipulate this to allow an exception when consensual sex involves an individual, or individuals underage and the partners are close in age. In some states, there is a close-in-age exemption. For example, from 2018 to 2019, Wyoming and New Mexico raised their age of consent from 16 to 17.
#Age of consent georgia update
From time to time, states do update their laws, including the age of consent. The states' laws differ, and the minimum age of consent in the United States is 16, and the maximum is 18 years old. Age of Consent Range in the United States Those found guilty face fines and jail time, as much as $25,000 and fifty years in prison, depending on the state. The severity of the criminal charge (e.g., Class A felony, Class B felony, misdemeanor, etc.) depends on the specific acts committed and the relative ages of the perpetrator and victim. One or more charges may be used to prosecute violations of a state's age of consent laws, such as statutory rape or the state's equivalent of that charge. also sets a minimum age for marriage to prevent child marriage. This is true in some jurisdictions, even if both partners are themselves younger than the age of consent, and both parties could technically be prosecuted. Sexual relations with an individual under the state's mandated age of consent is deemed as statutory rape, since rape is generally defined as sex without the other's consent, and anyone under the age of consent does not have the ability to consent in the eyes of the law. However, the actual age is set by individual state laws. In the United States, the age of consent is the legal age at which a person is considered mature enough to consent to sex.
