Arkansas legal dating ages

May 1, The state of Arkansas prohibits any adult to engage in sexual conduct with a person below the age of consent which is 16 years old. View full.
Table of contents

The offense is a Class Y felony , and a conviction can result in a minimum prison sentence of 25 years. Second degree sexual assault includes sexual touching between a minor who is 13 or younger and a defendant who 18 or older; or when the minor is 12 or 13 and the defendant is younger than 18 but five or more years older than the victim.

It also includes sexual contact between a minor 11 or younger when the defendant is younger than 18, but four or more years older than the victim. Third degree sexual assault includes sexual intercourse, anal or oral sex, or penetration between a minor who is 13 or younger and a defendant who is younger than 18 and three or more years older than the child.

Navigation menu

Fourth degree sexual assault includes sexual intercourse, penetration, or touching even through clothing for sexual gratification between a or year-old minor and a defendant who is 20 or older. It is also a crime in Arkansas for a person in a position of authority at a public or private school such as a teacher, coach, or administrator to engage in sexual conduct with a student younger than 21 years of age who is enrolled in the same school.

State law requires that, in addition to the applicable fines and prison time, people convicted of certain sexual crimes including statutory rape must register as sex offenders. Arkansas has a marital exemption for statutory rape that allows married people to have consensual sex even if their ages would prohibit it if they were not married. The marital defense is a remnant of the marital rape exemption.

Arkansas Age of Consent & Statutory Rape Laws

Minors are legally incapable of giving consent to having sex; so for example, if Jen, a year-old, willingly has sex with Tony, her year-old boyfriend, Tony can be charged with rape, since Jen is not legally capable of giving consent in the first place. But if Jen and Tony are married and living in Arkansas, Tony need not fear criminal charges for having consensual sex with Jen.

This is because Arkansas has a marital exemption to the Arkansas statutory rape laws. However, if Tony were to rape Jen force her to have sex against her will , he would have no protection under the law even if the two are married. In Arkansas, there is a Romeo and Juliet exemption for consensual sex between minors who are close in age; and even in certain cases when one party is a minor but the defendant is fewer than seven years older than the minor discussed above.

Arkansas Age of Consent Lawyers

Defendants accused of statutory rape often claim that they had no reason to know that their partner was underage. They may argue that the victim herself represented that she was older than she was, and that a reasonable person would have believed her. But in Arkansas, even a reasonable mistake as to the victim's age will not be a defense to a charge of statutory rape.

If you are facing a statutory rape charge, consider consulting with an experienced criminal defense attorney who regularly practices in your area. A lawyer can often negotiate with the prosecutor for a lesser charge or a reduction in penalties such as, for example, probation instead of prison time and will know how prosecutors and judges typically handle cases like yours.

The History of Marijuana in Arkansas

The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site. The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service.


  • davis and white ice dancers dating.
  • 30 year old dating a 19 year old.
  • Arkansas Statutory Rape Laws | arraya.co!
  • twins only dating site.
  • Ages of consent in the United States.

Individuals aged 15 or younger in Arkansas are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape. Arkansas statutory rape law is violated when a person has consensual sexual intercourse with an individual under age If the offender is under age 18, the younger party must not be under 14 years of age a defense exists if the younger party is at no more than 4 years younger than the offender, or no more than 3 years younger if the victim is under Arkansas has a close-in-age exemption. A close in age exemption , also known as "Romeo and Juliet law", is designed to prevent the prosecution of underage couples who engage in consensual sex when both participants are significantly close in age to each other, and one or both are below the age of consent.

Depending on the situation, the Arkansas close-in-age exemption may completely exempt qualifying close-in-age couples from the age of consent law, or merely provide a legal defence that can be used in the event of prosecution.

Arkansas’s Statutory Rape Laws and Potential Penalties

The Age of Consent ranges state-by-state from 16 to 18 years old across the United States. Click the map to view any state's age of consent laws. The age of consent in Arkansas is based on the following statutes from the Arkansas criminal code:. Arkansas has nine statutory sexual abuse charges on the books which are used to prosecute age of consent and child abuse related crimes within the state.

What is the Age of Consent in Arkansas?

One or more of these charges may be used to prosecute violations of the Arkansas Age of Consent, as statutory rape or the Arkansas equivalent of that charge.