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Missouri Age of Consent Lawyers
What is the Age of Consent for Sex in Missouri?
In general, the age of consent in Missouri for sexual intercourse is 17 years old. This is the age at which a person can consent to have sex with anyone who is also over the age of consent.
If the offender reasonably believed that the minor was older than 17, this is a defense to prosecution, when guilt is dependent on the fact that the minor was 17 years old or younger. However, there are other crimes in Missouri which depend on the victim being under 13. In such cases, it is not a defense that the offender believed, however reasonably, that the victim was older than 13.
Missouri, like most states, takes the difference in age between the partners into account when one or both of them are under the age of consent. In general, a person over the age of 14 can consent to sex with a person under the age of 21 without legal problems. Most crimes related to the age of consent in Missouri only come into play when someone over 21 has sex with someone under the age of 17.
The punishments for violating Missouri’s age of consent laws are fairly lenient, usually being in the 5-7 year range.
Missouri’s age of consent laws only apply to heterosexual conduct. They have laws on the books which make homosexual sex between individuals of any age illegal. However, such laws, as applied to consenting adults in private settings, have been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Therefore, it is unclear what the age of consent for such conduct is.
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