What Is the Age of Consent in Ohio?
The legal age of consent in Ohio is 16. That means if you are 16 or older, Ohio law allows you to have sexual relations with anyone else (of any age). Prior to September 2012, Ohio’s statutory rape laws made it a crime for anyone to engage in consensual sexual activity with anyone under 18 years of age. In September 2012, the Ohio legislature amended Ohio revised code 2907.04 to make it only a crime to have sex with a person under 16 years of age.
The change only relevant when a defendant is over 18 years old . However, even though the law no longer makes it a crime, the "crime" itself appears on your record. Or, in other words, it becomes a felony that you are required to list on any application that asks if you have a sexual offense or felonious sexual offense.
It is important to note that the new law does NOT affect how prosecutors handle cases. For instance, a defendant charged with engaging in sexual relations with a 17-year-old victim who claims she is 16 will likely still be charged with a felony, creating a crime.
Exceptions to the Ohio Age of Consent Law
Although Ohio’s age of consent is 16, there are some exceptions. One exception applies to individuals with both mental and physical disabilities. In Ohio, if a person has severe or profound mental and physical disabilities, they are not of an age capable of giving consent. However, though individuals with mild mental or physical disabilities are considered to give consent under Ohio law, if an individual believes that it was not given, that accusation could lead to serious criminal charges for statutory rape.
Another exception is the close-in-age exemption. In Ohio, it is legal for a person who is 18 years old to have sex with someone who is 16 years old or 17 years old. The law does not give exemption for someone who is 19 years old to have sex with someone younger than 18.
Penalties Associated With Age of Consent
The age of consent is not the age at which a person can legally engage in any sexual activity. If you are in Ohio and the other party to the sexual relationship is not age 13 – 16, unless you are legally married to them, then you have committed a crime.
Statute 2907.04. Unlawful sexual conduct with minor states that a person who is age 18 or older and is not married to a minor between the ages of 13 and 16 is guilty of third degree felony. If the minor is a student at a school where the offender is employed then the crime is a second degree felony. There are a few other prescribed penalties that may be imposed, beyond the standard sentence for felony convicts which will be outlined below.
If you are younger than age 18, then you will be charged with a second degree misdemeanor for sexual conduct with a person between the ages of 13 and 16 per statute 2907.05. It should be stated here that even if the other party is the one to initiate intimacy and you have not met anywhere outside of the Internet, you are still guilty of a crime. The law states that consent of the minor is not a defense. Consent is irrelevant when the minor is not legally able to consent to sexual conduct.
In addition to criminal charges, there are Administrative penalties to consider. A sex crimes conviction means that you are required to register as a sex offender. The first offense requires you to register every 6 months for 10 years. The second offense requires you to register every 6 months for 25 years. If convicted of two or more offenses, then you will be required to register for the rest of your life.
The penalties for failing to register are considerable. If you fail to register for the first time, then you could be required to do 90 days in jail or be fined $1,000. There are mandatory fines involved with each subsequent offense. In addition, an infraction of this nature is a felony. This means that it will also result in a felony conviction, and the felony carries more significant penalties than a misdemeanor.
Ohio Age of Consent Compared to Other States
When looking at the age of consent laws of Ohio, it is important to compare them to other states. In particular, Ohio prohibits sexual conduct with a person less than 13 years old. In states like West Virginia, that age is only 12. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the laws differ from state to state. Ohio is at the median with one-third of other states having different rules.
In Alaska and Delaware, the age is 16. In Michigan, it is 17. Iowa has a two-tiered system with 16 and 18-year-olds receiving different protections. The strictest state is a Tie – but one-half of those age 12 in Florida are affected.
Ohio does not abuse discretion. All of this can be compared to the United Kingdom.
The laws vary among Ohio’s neighboring states:
- Indiana – The age of consent in Indiana is 16 , except that people aged 14-15 may consent to sexual conduct with adults who are less than three years older.
- Kentucky – The age of consent in Kentucky is 16. Penetration of a victim under 13 years old by forcible compulsion is first degree rape; sexual abuse if less than 12 but more than 11 years of age. Someone who is convicted of first degree sexual abuse must register as a sex offender for the rest of their life.
- West Virginia – Like Delaware, West Virginia allows 16-year-olds to consent to sexual contact, but prohibits persons less than 16 years old from giving consent for sexual penetration with a person more than 4 years older.
- Pennsylvania – The age of consent in Pennsylvania is 16.
Consent Is More Than Just an Age Issue
To understand consent in Ohio, and how our laws treat both consensual and non-consensual sex offenses, we should turn to definitions provided by case law. When the legislature enacted Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2907.02, defining the age-required element of various sex crimes to be "without other authorization by law" and prohibited sexual conduct "with another" under the contorted DuBois standard of "has not consented" from State v. DuBois, 133 Ohio St. 3d 389, 2007-Ohio-5523, our Supreme Court has further defined the term "without consent" in the context of sex offenses.
The first element of our analysis begins with "consent." The Ohio Supreme Court defined "consent" as "a person’s agreement or cooperative attitude toward a proposition or plan" in State v. Schaim, 65 Ohio St. 3d 590, 605, 605 N.E.2d Truman (1992). The court further explained that "consent" to be voluntary must be given by a person who "has the capacity to consent," which means an individual who is able to understand the nature, purpose and consequences of the particular sexual conduct, and who does not suffer from a mental or physical disease or condition that prevents that understanding.
From this language we see that although age is one marker of a person’s ability to "consent," there are many other considerations that have nothing to do with age. The issue of consent is more than a simple equation of age, or no age. It must be considered based upon both the defendant’s and victim’s mental state, communicative comprehension, and motivations under the circumstances to openly accede or decline.
Helpful Resources for Minors and Parents
The authorities at both the state and federal level understand that the law’s complexity can be bewildering. For those youth who want to know more about Ohio’s age of consent laws, the following organizations can provide information both in person and online:
• The Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence (OAESV) is a statewide coalition of rape crisis centers, educational institutions, private citizens and other organizations dedicated to preventing and eliminating sexual violence .
• Several resources are available online at this OAESV page.
• Further resources are available via OAESV’s page on campus sexual assault and violence, located at this link.
• The Ohio Department of Health runs a blog and catalog of wellness events around the state, some of which could assist doctors, therapists and parents in educating teens about Ohio’s age of consent laws.