Asked in Criminal Law for Alabama

Q: does a 17 year old have rights to drop charges their parents have placed on someone on their child's behalf?

a close friend of mine's parents is threatening to file criminal charges on her boyfriend if he contacts her again. they don't like him because he is mixed, but they are the same age. my friend turns 18 in December so I was wondering if she was able to drop any charges her parents may try to file against her boyfriend.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Samuel G McKerall
Samuel G McKerall
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Gulf Shores, AL

A: Your question is a little unclear, so I'm going to assume what I think you mean.

I'm assuming that by "charges" you mean that your friend's parents are threatening to commence a criminal prosecution against her boyfriend for having sexual relations with a minor. She's seventeen, and will turn 18 in December, which means she turned 16 in December 2015.

The "age of consent" is the age at which a person may freely consent to sexual relations. In Alabama the "age of consent" is 16. If your friend had sexual relations with her boyfriend before her 16th birthday in December 2015, that was a crime and if a criminal prosecution is commenced your friend will not be able to cause the charge to be dropped. On the other hand, any and all sexual activity between your friend and her boyfriend that occurred on or after her 16th birthday in December, 2015, was not a crime and your friend's parents will not be allowed to file criminal charges, so there will be no charges to drop.

I hope this helps and provides the information you were seeking. If I have misinterpreted what you were asking, then post another question with a little more detail as to what you mean by "charges".

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