Q: After a “victim” turns 18, can past allegations for statutory rape still be filed/reported and taken to a court of law?
“victim” had consensual intercourse with “offender” of a 2 year age difference. Since the age of consent in california is 18, this is considered statutory rape. Parents have talked about filing charges but have not, the “victim” will be 18 in 4 months. Can the parents press charges after their child turns 18? Or is it no longer their jurisdiction?
A:
You're operating under a misconception that the parents have the ability to press charges and/or that this matter is within their "jurisdiction". Only the District Attorney's office has the power and jurisdiction to file and pursue criminal charges.
With that being said, the DA's office has 3 years to file charges from the date the last act of "voluntary" intercourse took place that could constitute "statutory rape". You can "sweat it out" until the statute of limitations runs out. Or you can act PRO-ACTIVELY by retaining a skilled and experienced attorney who wears both a criminal defense and civil "hats", so to speak, to contact the parents of the victim and, hopefully, resolve the matter INFORMALLY so neither they nor the minor may refer the matter to the local police to investigate or to the DA's office directly. You don't want to try to do that yourself (and from what you wrote, it appears unlikely that they would talk to you) as it could be construed as an attempt to threaten, intimidate or otherwise coerce the victim and/or her family which could lead to additional criminal charges against you.
My recommendation is to find an attorney in your area who specializes in rape cases. Not all criminal defense attorneys do.
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