Sparta, WI asked in Criminal Law for Wisconsin

Q: Can a 17 yr old and an 18 yr old who live in Wisconsin legally have sex if they travel to Minnesota?

Because Wisconsin Laws state this would be statutory rape (age of consent is 18) While the age of consent in Minnesota is 16. Do the laws apply to where they live or where they are?

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2 Lawyer Answers

A: Where they are, but that brings up some more issues, whether the purpose of the travel with a minor can be prosecuted. Here is one of the results from a simple internet search: Regardless of the age of the perpetrator, it is always statutory rape in Minnesota if the victim is under the age of 13. If the person under the age of consent is between 13 and 16 years old, they can legally consent to sex with someone that is less than 48 months (4 years) older than them

A: As Mr. De Groot has suggested, I suppose it is possible that the 18-year-old could be prosecuted under the federal Mann Act, although such prosecutions under that statute are extremely rare.

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