Q: Can my husband face criminal charges for committing adultery with his first full blood cousin?
A: Strangely enough, adultery isn't an offense for married men. The statute is incredibly outdated and sexist and frankly, I have never seen a woman charged with adultery in the 20 or so years that I have practiced as an attorney. Incest in Minnesota is a crime as well, but the blood relationship has to be a closer relationship than first cousins. So nothing you describe here would be a criminal offense so long as what occurred was consensual between the parties.
Thomas C Gallagher agrees with this answer
A: The Minnesota crimes of "Adultery" and "Fornication" are rarely prosecuted, though still in Minnesota Statutes. The Minnesota crime of "Incest" excludes first cousins. But I have represented clients charged with Minnesota Criminal Sexual Conduct 3rd and 4th Degree for a consensual sexual relationship with a first cousin ("significant relationship" does include first cousin) under the age of 18.
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