Utah Laws Regarding Age of Consent vs. Sexual Abuse

UTAH LAWS re: AGE OF CONSENT vs SEXUAL Abuse

 

In the state of Utah children under the age of 14 cannot consent to any sexual contact. Children under the age of 16, cannot consent to sex--neither oral, anal or vaginal sex (This includes digital, object, penile,).

 

Sexual activity is without the consent of the victim, and therefore illegal, under the following circumstances*:

-          if the victim expresses lack of consent through words or conduct;

-          the victim is age 16 or 17 and the actor is 10 years or more older (see Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a 16 or 17 Year Old);

-          if the victim is age 14 or 15 the minor cannot consent to fondling if the actor is 7 years or more older (See Sexual Abuse of a Minor, Section 76-5-401.1.);

-          if the victim is age 14 or 15 the minor cannot consent to intercourse, sodomy, oral sex, or penetration (3º  Felony if suspect is 4 or more years older/ Class B misdemeanor if suspect is less than 4 years older [see Unlawful Sexual Activity with a Minor, Section 76-5-401.]);

-          the victim is younger than 18 years of age and at the time of the offense the actor was the victim’s parent, step-parent, adoptive parent, or legal guardian or occupied a position of special trust;

-          the victim has not consented and the actor knows the victim is unconscious, unaware that the act is occurring, or physically unable to resist;

-          the actor knows that as a result of a mental disease/defect, the victim is incapable either of appraising the nature of the act or resisting it;

-          the actor intentionally impaired the power of the victim to appraise (evaluate) or control his or her conduct by administering any substance without the victim’s knowledge. (getting someone drunk or giving them a drug).

-          the actor is a health professional or religious counselor; the act is committed under the guise of providing professional diagnosis, counseling or treatment, and at the time of the act the victim reasonably believed that the act was for medically or professionally appropriate diagnosis, counseling, or treatment to the extent that resistance by the victim could not reasonably be expected to have been manifested.

 

SUMMARY:

Your Age	When You Can Legally Consent to Sexual Activity:
Under 14 Years of Age	No child under age 14 can consent to any sexual activity including fondling (touching privates, looking at nude images, etc.)
14 -15 Years of Age	If someone is 0-6 years older than you, when you are 14 or 15, fondling is not illegal. By law, you can consent. However, intercourse, oral sex, sodomy, or penetration with anyone under age 16 is illegal.
16 -17 Years of Age	If someone is up to 9 years older than you when you are 16 or 17, you can, by law, consent. However, if someone is 10 or more years older than you, it is illegal. You cannot consent.