Helping Good People At Their Worst Times

I swear, she said she was 18!

On Behalf of | Mar 1, 2018 | Criminal Law

In Pensacola, Spring Break brings tourists for miles. College students and high school students are a large part of them.  They meet new people and sometimes engage in sexual relations. In Florida, the age of consent is 18 years of age. For minors ages 16-17, Florida statutes provide an age-gap provision that allow a 16 or 17 year-old to legally consent to sexual conduct with a person 16-23 years of age. If a person is over the age of 23 and has sexual relations with someone ages 16-17, it is a Second Degree Felony which can require the defendant to file as a sexual offender. In Florida, a Second Degree Felony is punishable by up to 15 years in jail. The statute is gender neutral. Women as well as men can be charged.

The most important part about this post: The defender cannot shield him/her from the charge even if they did not know the age of the victim or the victim portrayed themselves to be older. Florida Statute 794.021. Don’t rely on their ID either. Our firm has defended gentlemen who saw an id, later known to be fake, stating the age to be 18.  Be careful, but if you need find yourself in this predicament, call our firm at 850-299-1578 for a free consult.

https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0794/Sections/0794.05.html