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In the United States, an age of consent law or set of laws, define the age that a person could be intimate with someone their age or older. There is normally not an upper age limit once someone reaches the age of consent. These laws are often flexible for people under the age of consent engaging in unlawful activities before the age of consent but tend to be inflexible for those that are older and have a romantic relationship with someone younger than the defined age.
This all sounds very confusing because adult hood is often dynamic based on multiple factors such as cognitive ability, physical ability, and gene expression instead of based on age. For example an 8 year old might be cognitively classified as an adult, but fails to meet the other parameters. Similarly many 30 to 50 year olds are cognitively, still a teenager but they are physically adult size. They may have some young adult abilities like running at a moderate pace and basic to intermediate hand eye coordination.
Most adult skillsets are based on time elapsed over long periods. A teenager may for example catch up to an adult by practicing 4 hours per day for 1-2 months instead of 1-2 hours every few months over the years.
The United States has set a time since birth as a parameter on determining an adult status for quite some time. Often, they are trying to categorize behaviors and acceptable conduct for children, teenagers, pre-teens, and adults. More recently, a person that has a vast cognitive difference from another adult and seeks to be in a relationship with them can face human abuse charges.
The age of consent was defined in 1950 as 16 years old and has not changed. While there was a trend to classify humans as an adult at the age of 25, this was paused and is a future goal.
A 16 year old dating anyone younger than 16 can face a class 3 felony. Realistically, this is more likely referencing a 18 to 20 year old for the following reasons.
Dating a person under the age of 13 carries a minimum 10 year sentence if done with consent, and 15 years if done without consent. (1992)
This adds parameters to the legislation.
Going back to the 1950 laws, there is no conflict of meaning and the 1950 law has not been repealed. This means there is a compatibility between the two laws making it justiciable in a court procedure.
When dating a person under the age of 16, the class 3 felony can be dropped to a class 1 misdemeanor if there is less than a 5 year age difference. A person will still get a minimum of 10 years if they are younger than 13. That means no 17 year old and 12 year old relationships in South Dakota.
If the couple is married, then there is an assumption that no crime has been committed. This means that if a 17 year old and a 12 year old were married they would face neither a felony nor a misdemeanor. More realistically, this might apply to a 14 or 15 year old with someone over the age of 16. Marriage does not require a license. It requires an agreement from both parties that they are married. Constituionally, many religions forbid registering a marriage with the government, they accept religious based agreements only in a valid religious marriage.
A person under the age of 16 who has engaged in a relationship with a person over the age of 16 can bring charges in a courtroom for 7 years after the incident or until the age of 25, whichever is longer from time of incident.
In 2021 the legislature added a law that prepares the population for the future plans of defining an adult at the age of 25, realistically this might be 40 years from now, around the year 2060. Depending on other factors, it might happen in the 2030s. This law allows someone to claim that they were sexually abused until the age of 18. The law has some parameters, the person alleged of the abuse must be in a position of trust, or family member related within 5 degrees. Some examples include a coach, child care provider, disability provider, health care provider, law enforcement, probation officer, or school administrator.
This does not invalidate the 1950s law as it must specifically be amended to show the people consented to such a change. Many people in South Dakota have pre-arranged possible marriages with family members who are more than 5 years apart. They can traditionally start dating as soon as one of them is 16 years old. What they do in their bedroom after that age is in the privacy of their own home and according to Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965 the couples do have bedroom privacy.
This means that the age of consent in South Dakota is 16 and it is up to them to decide how old their potential partner will be. They may still ask advice and opinion of their family members. A person can claim child abuse by a person in authority until the age of 18, and there is a 5 year age difference requirement to request that a charge for dating a person under 18 be changed to a misdemeanor.
In defining sexual abuse of a person until the age of 18, South Dakota indicates but does not limit, the sexual abuse to touching of the buttocks and thighs with the intent of causing arousal.
Traditionally a state with a 4 year age difference requirement and a consent age of 18. They recently changed their laws, likely in consideration of current developments. A person who is at least 14 years old may date a person up to the age of 24 if they would like to do so but, they can not be engaged in illegal activities.
This likely gives police discretion of prosecuting people for both the illegal activities and abuse of a minor. California did not update its laws to define an adult as a 14 year old but the FLSA does allow them to work at this age.
As a person gets closer to 18, they are less restricted in dating someone that is close to 30 if they live in California. The law does not specifically limit a consensual relationship to a 24 year old but, it defines a 10 year difference as an acceptable age difference beginning a the age of 14.
Prior to enforcement of the 4 year age limit in the 1990s, California had documented relationships with people as young as 12 or 13. The allowable age to start dating in Latin America is often 15, but consumating a marriage is often a private affair. Children are often born between 19-24 and this has been increasing to what is now the standard age of 28-40 for a first child. Many families are still having their last few early twenties babies.
While all of this seems confusing, teenagers from families with traditional age similarity relationships see 14 and 19 as acceptable and 16 and 24 doesn't seem too bad based on different parameters. From there, they mostly want to see reasons why the teenager would go outside this suggested age and an 18 year old can date someone of any age. For example 18 and 40 or 20 and 50 which is no longer viewed with stigma due to human development. The compatibility will vary by couple and the relationship is still required to be mutually consensual even if the parents disagree.
Secretive in its relationship requirements, this state is seen as a place that allows young adults to join other families with the consent and approval of the parents. The age of consent is 16 and there are rumors of nefarious activity regarding the introduction of the teenagers.
What the parents are usually concerned with is that teenagers at this age are ready to leave home, they feel more independent, and may not yet be able to make enough money to live on their own. While the last part has changed recently, they are still curious and require someone that can help them or act as a support system.
One thing to keep in mind is that adults in the 30 to 50 year age range who have worked 40-50 hours per week since age twenty may not be fully independent yet and may have concerns about retirement. This means that their policies for financial stability will closely resemble the policies that 16 to 20 year olds have for living on their own. They are normally spending and saving money and will need to buy some type of place to live before reaching retirement age.
While the age of consent has varied radically over the past 100 years, globally the human gene pool appears to be going through a correction phase and the age difference in a relationship is currently more permissible than it has been in the recent past. It is estimated that between the years 2035 and 2060, puberty will be more well defined and lab tests will be able to test adulthood molecularly along with MRIs, objective counseling, blood samples, and physical exams.
It will be interesting to see the decisions that people make in selecting relationships. Considering that long term relationships are more popular, the human gene pool should see some intresting changes over the next 50 years. It is estimated that people will be in touch for much longer periods of time but there are also efforts to lower the metabolism and make human life more sedentary.