Dallas, TX asked in Criminal Law and Juvenile Law for Texas

Q: Can a 16 year old boy get arrested for getting a 14 year old girl pregnant?

The parents of the girl do not want to press charges. The 16 year old boy says she was with multiple friends of his at time of conception. 16 year old says he was with her almost a month after conception

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3 Lawyer Answers
Victoria Collins
Victoria Collins
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Fort Worth, TX
  • Licensed in Texas

A: Yes. You can be charged with and arrested for statutory rape. Since you are 16 years old, you will automatically be charged as an adult.

Gary Kollin
Gary Kollin
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Fort Lauderdale, FL

A: Yes

Kiele Linroth Pace
Kiele Linroth Pace
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Austin, TX
  • Licensed in Texas

A: A person can be arrested for anything. The question is whether the prosecution can prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Having sex without someone without their effective consent is Sexual Assault. In Texas, no person age 16 or younger can effectively consent to sexual contact. When a child's consent is not effective because of their age, that is still Sexual Assault. You may have heard it referred to as "Statutory Rape" or heard the phrase "sixteen will get you twenty" ... which is a reference to the potential of spending 20 years in prison for sex with a 16 year-old.

However, there is an AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE when the younger person is at least 14 at the time of the sexual contact and the older person is less than 3 years older. This defense is not available if the younger person is 13 and 364 days ... nor if the older person is 3 years and 1 day older. You may have heard of this referred to as the "Romeo and Juliet Defense."

As an aside, did you wonder why people say that Romeo & Juliet is a love story? They are both dating other people at the beginning, then they have a three-day affair that leaves a bunch of people dead, including both Romeo and Juliet.

OK, so anyway, if the police or prosecutor really want to stick the other kids with a conviction and ruin their life with the Sex Offender status then they might file charges like "Indecency with a Child" or "Sexual Performance of a Child" because there is no Romeo & Juliet Defense for those offenses.

Finally, although it is POSSIBLE for a 16-year old to be tried as an adult instead of a juvenile, that is not the most likely outcome for this type of case in most jurisdictions. Your best source of information will be a juvenile justice attorney that practices law in the community where this happened. Here is a URL to a primer on this issue: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/files/divisions/juvenile-justice/JuvenileJusticeHandbook.pdf

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