Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

It depends on what you mean by "date." By any normal understanding yes, of course, an 18 year old can date a 16 year old. An adult can talk to a 16 year old or even a 15 year old, have dinner with them, go to a movie, etc.

I am NOT suggesting that someone SHOULD. I am not suggesting that parents won't be upset. I am not saying it is wise, becuase it can create conflict.

I am only saying it is not against the law.

Many would argue that one is asking for trouble because parents or even the "child" could get angry later and make false accusations, misremember or misinterpret events, and create trouble that one could easily avoid.

However, there are two laws that get involved in such a situation.

These both involve sexual contact or at least physical romantic contact or graphic sexual content.

SImply dating a person does not violate either of these laws.

The first law would involve having sexual contact (either normal sex or really any kind of sexual contact). A minor cannot legally give his or her consent. The law assumes that someone below the age of 16 does not have enough maturity to make the decision. So even if they say "yes" it legally does not count. Therefore, it becomes statutory rape.

The other law of concern is only a MISDEMEANOR, which is contributing to the delinquency of a minor. This is a lot fuzzier, and therefore much harder to prove. Also a little harder to avoid because it is vague.

If one were to "corrupt" a minor by getting them interested in sex before being an adult, perhaps showing them porn, having graphic discussions, perhaps having them undress -- even without sexual contact -- this could be the crime of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.... up to the age of 18.

One could be charged with this even if all that happens is deep kissing and heavy petting / groping. Remember that if one is charged with something or accused, what happened may be EXAGGERATED, twisted, and misrepresented, often in an environment of strong feelings.

However, you can see that going to a (normal) movie or sitting in a restaurant having dinner and talking or even taking a walk in the park would not violate either of these laws.

So, yes, it is legal to DATE a 16 year old.

The third possible problem would be taking a 16 year old away from the control of parents without the parents' knowledge or consent. If one took a 16 year old away for the weekend or away on a date for a VERY long time, without the consent of the parents as to where he or she was, this could create a problem of something like kidnapping. I would not "date" a 16 year old girl by taking her away for 2 weeks to the beach without telling the parents.

ALSO NOTE: If you have any kind of special relationship of trust, such as teacher or doctor or relative or the like, even babysitter, this might create another set of problems. I believe a teacher getting involved with a student in the same school, for example, would be violating the law even if only dating the sttudent.