New law 'decriminalizes' some teen sex 'Romeo and Juliet defense' may apply
to couples
By JOE GERRETY
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
For years in Indiana, the age at which a person could legally consent to
have sex was 16.
But lawyers for young defendants accused of having sex with 14- and
15-year-olds now can pose a defense against charges of sexual misconduct with a
minor.
Public Law 216, which went into effect July 1, contains a long list of criminal
law changes related to sexual and violent offenses and the Indiana Sex Offender
Registry, which has been renamed the Sex and Violent Offender Registry.
Among those changes, the law creates a legal defense, nicknamed the "Romeo and
Juliet defense," against charges of sexual misconduct with a minor.
"The change in the law decriminalizes consensual sex among teenagers in a
dating relationship if they are within four years age difference," said Larry
Landis, executive director of the Indiana Public Defender Council.
Stephen J. Johnson, executive director of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys
Council, which supported and helped write the new defense, said the change
doesn't really lower the age of consent.
It modifies a 1994 law that made sexual misconduct with a minor a separate
offense from child molesting as a way of dealing with teenage sexuality,
Johnson said.
"We did not view the new defense as a radical change in the law; rather it
created what we believed was a relatively narrow defense for certain sexual
acts among young people over the age which would qualify for child
molestation," Johnson said.
"It did not change the elements of the crime of sexual misconduct with a minor."
Deputy prosecutor Laura Zeman, who prosecutes most of the sexual misconduct
cases in Tippecanoe County, said the law change means she'll be less focused on
the defendant's knowledge of the victim's age in some cases.
In the past, charges were not filed if the state could not prove the accused
was aware of the alleged victim's age. Now, Zeman suspects, more defendants
will focus on the new defense.
"I would not have lobbied for it one way or the other. That's up to the
legislators," Zeman said. "Whatever laws they pass, we are obligated to
enforce."
The conditions
When asserting the defense, Johnson said, the accused carries the burden of
proving all elements of the defense.
The defense can be asserted if the party accused of having sexual contact with
a 14- or 15-year-old is under 21, is no more than four years older than the
alleged victim and was involved in a dating relationship with the alleged
victim at the time.
Sex with a person under 14 is still child molesting, regardless of the age of
the perpetrator.
The new law could protect an 18-year-old from adult felony charges if he has
sex with a 15-year-old girlfriend, for instance.
The defense cannot be asserted if the accused:
Is 21 or older.
Uses force, a weapon or drugs, or causes serious bodily injury during the act.
Has a position of authority or substantial influence over the victim.
Has committed another sex offense against any other person.Landis said the law
change arose from legislators' concerns that the ever-widening set of crimes
forcing people to register as sex offenders was having unintended consequences.
"Initially, it was a narrow list of offenses" that prompted the sex offender
registry requirement, Landis said. "It had to be rape, criminal deviate conduct
-- some forcible sex act."
Year after year, more offenses were added to the list of convictions requiring
registration.
As a result, some sexually active teenagers in consensual, dating relationships
wound up with criminal convictions that required lifetime sex offender
registration.
"It's debilitating," Landis said. "It affects their ability to get into school,
student loans, jobs."
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