Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

Age of Consent

My question is regarding the age of consent for sexual relations. Florida law states that in order for it to be legal, both parties must be older than 16 and younger than 24. If it is mutally consentual, then it is legal. (FS794.05) My question is how is the severity of the situation judged? Does the law look at the relationship between someone who is, say, 1 month away from their 24th birthday and someone who is one month past their 16th birthday differently then they would look at a relationship between someone who is, say, 18 with someone who is 17? The age gap is considerably smaller in the latter, but still is judged by this law as consentual minor sexual relations. If so, what guideline(s) (other than the statute) are used to further administrate the relationship? Does the law look differently at the two relationships? If someone were to take a polygraph exam to become a police officer, they would be asked if they have ever had sexual relations with a minor. If they say yes, they are further questioned. Would the 2 previous age gaps play any part in the hiring decision? It seems this law is clear-cut, but is questioned once it is used. I would just like some clarification to these questions.


Asked on 10/18/04, 1:15 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Age of Consent

You must have misunderstood the law, since your interpretation makes it illegal for anyone over age 24 to have sex.

Assuming that you are correct about the age of consent being 16 (I don't know whether this is correct or not since I am not a Florida attorney), the law would not care one way or the other whether the parties are barely 16; someone who has reached the age of consent can legally engage in sex from that day forward as long as their partner is also of legal age.

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Answered on 10/18/04, 3:54 pm


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