Passaic, NJ asked in Federal Crimes and Criminal Law for New Jersey

Q: I was 16 she was 18 and we had a daughter but I would say no to sex it’s been 7 years can I still press charges

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1 Lawyer Answer
William N. Sosis
William N. Sosis
Answered
  • Hackettstown, NJ
  • Licensed in New Jersey

A: Thank you for your question. If you're asking whether you can charge her with statutory rape/sexual assault I think you're going to have a problem. First, even if you were 16 at the time, New Jersey sets the age of consent at 16 (the law requires, among other things, that the victim be at least 13 but less than 16 years old) Second, even though the statute is supposed to be gender neutral, it's poorly written to reflect this. It's also been 7 years since this happened and few people are likely to believe that your saying "no to sex" couldn't have been more effective.

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