As i stated I am 17 and the guy i am dating is 24. I know an age difference like this is sometimes frowned upon but is it illegal? We have not yet had a sexual relationship, we have only kissed, held hands and cuddled together. From Colorado laws I have read it seems that the age of consent is 17 meaning we could have a sexual relationship if we choose and it would be legal making any relationship we have legal as well. Am I reading the law correct or am I reading it wrong making our relationship illegal? P.S. I know my parents are not the most supportive of me having a relationship with a 24 year old guy
You should be okay in this relationship, but here is the operative statute:
18-3-404. Unlawful Sexual Contact.
(1.5) Any person who knowingly, with or without sexual contact, induces or coerces a child by any of the means set forth in section 18-3-402 to expose intimate parts or to engage in any sexual contact, intrusion, or penetration with another person, for the purpose of the actor's own sexual gratification, commits unlawful sexual contact. For the purposes of this subsection (1.5), the term "child" means any person under the age of eighteen years.
18-3-402. Sexual Assault.
(1) Any actor who knowingly inflicts sexual intrusion or sexual penetration on a victim commits sexual assault if:
(a) The actor causes submission of the victim by means of sufficient consequence reasonably calculated to cause submission against the victim's will; or
(b) The actor knows that the victim is incapable of appraising the nature of the victim's conduct; or
(c) The actor knows that the victim submits erroneously, believing the actor to be the victim's spouse; or
(d) At the time of the commission of the act, the victim is less than fifteen years of age and the actor is at least four years older than the victim and is not the spouse of the victim; or
(e) At the time of the commission of the act, the victim is at least fifteen years of age but less than seventeen years of age and the actor is at least ten years older than the victim and is not the spouse of the victim; or
(f) The victim is in custody of law or detained in a hospital or other institution and the actor has supervisory or disciplinary authority over the victim and uses this position of authority to coerce the victim to submit, unless the act is incident to a lawful search; or
(g) The actor, while purporting to offer a medical service, engages in treatment or examination of a victim for other than a bona fide medical purpose or in a manner substantially inconsistent with reasonable medical practices; or
(h) The victim is physically helpless and the actor knows the victim is physically helpless and the victim has not consented.
(2) Sexual assault is a class 4 felony, except as provided in subsections (3), (3.5), (4), and (5) of this section.
(3) If committed under the circumstances of paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of this section, sexual assault is a class 1 misdemeanor and is an extraordinary risk crime that is subject to the modified sentencing range specified in section 18-1.3-501 (3).
Douglas A ThomasLawsuit / Dispute AttorneyCentennial, CO ·
It is not illegal unless the man is in a position of trust. A 17 year old cannot consent when the other party is in a position of trust like a coach, teacher, priest, law enforcement, etc. Here is link to the Colorado Legislature's own version of the laws which is easy to understand. http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1251619439380&ssbinary=true
