Legal Question in Criminal Law in Kentucky
My son's wife slept with him at at 15. I didn't press charges at the time. They married when he was 18. He is now almost 23 and wants a divorce and would like to know if he still has the right to press charges against her. They have been married almost 4 yrs.
1 Answer from Attorneys
You failed to mention how old she was at the time of the sexual contact. If she was 21 years old or more, then she would have committed rape in the third degree or sexual abuse in the first degree. KRS 510.060, 510.110. If she was 18 but less than 21 at the time, she would be guilty of sexual abuse in the second degree. KRS 510.120. However, if she is less than 5 years older than him, she has a defense to the sex abuse second charge, not to mention it's a misdemeanor and the statute of limitations has already run.
However, even if you still can bring the charge, unless there is a significant age difference between them or some other factor involved (like she was his teacher or something that would put the entire relationship into a question of legitimacy due to undue influence) the county attorney may not be interested, and certainly, I highly doubt a jury would be terribly impressed by such a case. Bitter husband seeks to punish his ex wife by prosecuting her for them sleeping together nearly a decade ago. Particularly if it's in a jurisdiction where many folks, even today, get married at 15, it won't sell. Also, if there are children and there will be a custody battle, an attempt at filing criminal charges for revenge could certainly backfire.
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