Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in California

Dating isn't illegal. I personally think it's absurd that you, an 18 year old, could get in trouble with the law for having consensual sex a 17 year old in California, but that's the law. Some people break the law and get away with it. Some don't. The risk is the possibility of jail time, a criminal record that will prevent employment, and the possibility of having to register as a sex offender. Your partner or her parents could rat you out, or she could have a baby.