What is a Romeo and Juliet law?

The background: age of consent

Every state sets an age of consent, and in the United States it is 16, 17 or 18 depending on the state. Below that age a person cannot legally consent to sexual activity, so sex with them is a crime regardless of whether they agreed — usually called statutory rape, sexual assault of a minor or unlawful sexual contact. In most states the offense is strict liability: believing the other person was older is not a defense. Without an exception, two high school students in a relationship could both technically be committing a felony.

How these provisions are built

• An age gap. Commonly two, three or four years between the parties.
• A minimum age floor. The younger person must usually be at least 13, 14, 15 or 16 — below the floor the exception does not apply at all.
• Consent in fact. The conduct must have been genuinely consensual; force, threats or incapacity remove the exception entirely.
• No position of trust. Teachers, coaches, guardians and others in authority are excluded, whatever the ages.

What the exception actually does

This varies more than people assume. In some states it is a complete defense, so no crime is committed. In others it reduces a felony to a misdemeanor. In others it leaves the conviction intact but removes the requirement to register as a sex offender, or allows a petition to be removed from the registry later — Florida's provision, the best-known one to carry the name, works this way. Federal SORNA guidelines also exclude consensual conduct where the victim was at least 13 and the offender no more than four years older from the definition of a registrable offense. A few states have no close-in-age provision at all.

Why the details matter so much

Registration as a sex offender can last decades and affect housing, education, employment and where a person may live or go. A conviction, even for a misdemeanor, can appear on background checks. The difference between falling inside and just outside the exception — a gap of four years and one month instead of four years — can change the outcome dramatically, and birthdays during a relationship can change the answer partway through it.

Where the risk remains

• Images. Sexting between minors can be charged under child pornography statutes that many Romeo and Juliet provisions do not touch. A growing number of states have added separate, narrower rules that treat teen sexting as a juvenile offense or a misdemeanor.
• Federal law has its own age rules for offenses involving interstate travel, the internet or federal land, and crossing state lines can change which state's law governs.
• Parents' complaints. Even where an exception exists, a parent's report can lead to an investigation, and prosecutors decide whether the exception applies.

Juvenile court

When both people are minors, cases usually go to juvenile court, where the focus is on rehabilitation and records can often be sealed. But older teenagers can sometimes be charged as adults, and juvenile adjudications for sex offenses can still trigger registration in some states.

Practical note

Because the age of consent, the age floor, the permitted gap and the effect on registration all differ by state, and because the consequences last for decades, this is an area where a summary is not a substitute for checking the specific statute in your state. Anyone who is being investigated, or whose child is, should speak to a criminal defense or juvenile defense lawyer before talking to police.

Other consequences to consider

Even when criminal charges are avoided, school discipline, custody disputes between parents and protective orders can follow a relationship that crosses the legal line. Colleges, employers and the military may ask about juvenile or sealed records in some circumstances. And an 18-year-old in a relationship with a younger partner should know that turning 18 can change their legal position overnight, depending on the state's age gap and floor.