How Old Do You Have to Be to Give Consent in Nevada?
Before examining the legal age of consent and how it is applied, it is important to understand how statutory rape laws are defined. When most people think about statutory rape, they believe that it involves sex between a minor and an adult such as a teacher and student or an older cousin. However, statutory rape does not just include relationships involving these offenses. Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) are long and for the sake of time, only the applicable sections will be quoted here.
The legal definition of statutory rape is provided by NRS 200.366, as follows:
_1. It is unlawful for a person to engage in sexual penetration with another person without consent of that other person or to cause another person to engage in sexual penetration with the person.
2. A person who commits an offense described in subsection 1:
(a) Where the victim is less than 14 years of age shall be punished:
(1) Where the perpetrator is 18 years of age or older and the victim is less than 14 years of age: for life without the possibility of parole, or for a definite term with the possibility for parole, for such term, not less than 25 years; or
(2) Where the perpetrator is less than 18 years of age and the victim is less than 14 years of age: by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of 15 years and a maximum term of life , with possibility of parole from such minimum term after 5 years; or
(b) Where the victim is 14 or 15 years of age shall be punished:
(1) Where the perpetrator is 18 years of age or older and the victim is less than 16 years of age: for life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 10 years has been served; or
(2) Where the perpetrator is less than 18 years of age and the victim is less than 16 years of age: by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of NV 25 years, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 10 years has been served if the victim is the person with mental or physical disabilities defined in paragraph (d) of subsection 2 of NRS 201.013 or paragraph (b) of subsection 1 of NRS 193.167. If otherwise, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 3 years has been served.
(c) Where the victim is a person 16 or 17 years of age, for life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 5 years has been served.
(Emphasis added)
The minimum age of consent in Nevada is 16, which means that anyone ages 16 or older can legally consent to engage in sexual intercourse with another individual. This law applies to all individuals regardless of age or gender.
In comparison, other states have different minimum ages of consent:
According to U.S. Wiki, the average age of consent in the United States is 16, while the District of Columbia has the highest minimum age of consent at 18.
Consent to Sexual Conduct
The legal implications for an adult having sexual contact with a juvenile depend on whether the age of the juvenile is below or above the legal age of consent—age 16 under NRS 200.364, the Nevada child sexual assault statute.
An adult who has sex with a juvenile who is below 16 years old violates NRS 201.230, the law that prohibits unlawful sexual penetration. Unlawful sexual penetration under NRS 201.230 occurs when an adult has contact in any form with a person under age 16 in such a way that the other person may be led to believe that the act of contact is sexual. This is a category B felony.
If the juvenile is at least 16 years old, then the act is not a violation of NRS 201.230 but may still be a violation of other sexual-related laws such as sexual abuse if the contact was unwelcome or non-consensual or if the person over age 18 abused his/her position of authority regarding the other person.
In addition to criminal penalties, the requirement to register as a sex offender is often a consequence of a conviction. This is because the Nevada Legislature has determined that individuals convicted of offenses related to unlawful sexual contact with minors must be classified as sex offenders. A sex offender registration has long-term and serious consequences on employment, residency, child custody, civil rights and social status.
Further Information
The law does create some exceptions for relationships close in age, as well as special circumstances when there is an age gap between the parties. The age of consent is the same regardless of the sex of the parties involved. Nevada’s statutory rape laws have a close-in-age exemption for consenting adults. A person age 15 or older can consent to sex with a person who is less than three years older – or three years younger – than they are. In other words, a 15-year-old can have sex with someone who is a maximum of 17 or a minimum of 12. Someone who is 16 can have sex with a person age 19 or a person age 13. A 17-year-old can have sex with a person age 20 or a person age 14. A person age 18 can have sex with a person age 21 or a person age 15. In all of these circumstances, the sexual partner is only guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
There are some exceptions to this rule, though. If a child under the age of 18 is made pregnant as a result of having an incestuous relationship with someone older than 18, the penalties vary. The older person can be punished by being placed on probation for a term of up to 30 months, or by imprisonment in the Nevada Department of Corrections for up to 5 years, or by the death penalty if the victim was younger than 14. When the victim of the incest is under the age of 16, the punishment is increased to a felony that gets 2 to 20 years in prison.
Sexual penetration of a minor under 16 years old can also carry penalties for the person actually doing the penetrating. It is a Category B felony in which the person is punished by imprisonment of two to twenty (2-20) years and is subject to a fine of up to Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00). Consent is not a valid defense to a charge of sexual penetration of a minor under 16 years old, nor is mistake as to age.
Statutory Rape in Nevada
In Nevada, statutory rape laws are designed to protect minors from sexual exploitation by adults, and as such, they are quite severe. Statutory rape charges are generally brought when an adult has consensual sexual contact with a minor under 16 years of age. If you engage in consensual sexual relations with a minor under the age of 16, even if it is consensual in the most basic of definitions, the law does not buy that line of thought and will seek to prosecute you to the fullest extent of Nevada’s statutory rape laws. A person convicted of statutory rape faces a category B felony with a minimum sentence of 2 years and a maximum sentence of 20 year in prison. If the defendant has a prior felony conviction , prison time will be presumed.
Many potential defenses exist in a statutory rape case. In some cases, defendants claim that the child represented him or her as being a legal adult, a claim which was eventually proven to be false. In other cases, the sexual relationship was hidden from the victim’s parents and/or the defendant’s parents. Nevertheless, once an arrest is made, the state will seek to build a very strong case against the defendant.
Consulting a Lawyer
Regardless of your circumstances or specific legal matter, if you have questions about consent laws in Nevada, or if you need legal representation in a related case, you should talk to a trusted attorney as soon as possible. Doing so will give you a better idea of your legal rights and relevant laws under the state of Nevada, as well as help you understand what you should and shouldn’t do when it comes to these laws.
There are resources available for those who are working with the legal system on issues involving the age of consent in Nevada. The Nevada Department of Family Services has a number of resources at its disposal for those who are interested in learning more about consent laws in the state.
Changes to the Law Over Time
Over the years, the legal age of consent has evolved and changed to reflect societal beliefs and values. The statutory age of consent in Nevada has not always been 16.
In fact, the current statute, NRS 200.364, was enacted in 1997 – but this is merely the most recent version of a law that has been modified over the decades. The first law of its kind to be enacted in Nevada was in 1911, when the legal age of consent was 14 years of age. In 1945, however, the law was revised and the legal age moved up to 16. It stayed there until 1997, when it was again modified to what it is currently.
While the current age may seem somewhat average, the history of the law and the fact that it has changed so many times is rather remarkable. The legal age of consent in many other states around the country is much lower. For instance, in New Jersey, the legal age of consent is 13. In West Virginia, it is 16.
These are similar ages to those presently in effect in Nevada, but the big difference between these other states and the Silver State on the issue is that Nevada law has – for the most part – included no exception or "Romeo and Juliet" clause. A Romeo and Juliet exception is an exemption from statutory Rape laws for people who are close enough in age or who are both under the age of consent that the relationship is akin to dating rather than engagement in sexual conduct .
Such provisions limit the scope of prosecution to cases where one party had the intent to engage in sexual conduct with the sole purpose of doing so with a minor.
The law in Nevada, however, does not include any such exception. Even prosecutions that are brought based on a consensual act between minors are often held by Nevada courts to be valid under the law, and punishments can be severe.
The law in this area is changing and is likely to continue evolving. With time, it is likely that Nevada courts will amend the law to provide some measure of protection for those who are within several years of the legal age of consent. But for now, the law in Nevada states that anyone aged 18 or older may not engage in sexual activity with any person under the age of 16 without risking prosecution and incarceration.
The point-by-point manner in which the penalties are laid out in Nevada law shows how serious the law is, and even the harshest punishments aren’t impossible to envision. For instance, a conviction for battery on a minor could mean you end up facing a minimum of two years in jail, a fine of at least $2,000, and you could be on probation for at least five years.
If you face charges, a conviction will mean that you are required to register as a sex offender for the following ten years for a first offense – and for a lifetime for subsequent offenses. In addition, you could face revocation of your concierge license, seller’s permit, business license or other occupational license.