Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

Re: statutary rape

The crime of statutory rape is committed when one has unlawful intercourse with a person under the age of 16. M.G.L. c. 265, s. 23. There are other statutes involving marriage and such, but this is the essence of your question.

My answer does not mean that the residential situation you describe is in anyone's best interest. This boy's mother and you both need to pay attention to his father's concerns. His concerns are valid and reasonable.

Human sexual maturity precedes emotional and educational maturity. We evolved under conditions that were far more harsh. We have since built a complicate artificial environment and lifestyle which requires an extended youth so that we can learn the skills needed to get food and shelter (in the form of INCOME). Early sex and childbirth is only useful for hunter-gatherers and very low-tech farming lifestyles. These were left behind in most of the world by the year 1950.

You and your boyfriend are risking early pregnancy, failure to obtain well-compensated employment in the long term, and failure to maintain a long-term, stable relationship. While your current situation may be better than whatever you previously faced, you should still consider your future.

If you are not already doing so, you should at the very least be using adequate birth control.

However, to re-answer the question you asked, you are not going to be jailed by the government, though you may find yourself "jailed" by poverty in the future.