What is the Age of Consent in Illinois?
The legal age of consent in Illinois is 17. Prior to 2010 the age of consent was 18. A law passed in 2010 lowered the age of consent from 18 to 17 for all sexual acts except for those involving a teacher or other employee of a school or daycare. The change was made because it was considered incongruous that a high school graduate would be treated as a criminal for having sex with a younger teen (which was then still illegal) while he or she was away at college.
If both participants in a potential sexual offense are under the legal age of consent for Illinois, no charge is likely to be brought against either. If both participants are of the legal age of consent, there are still fine and jail time possible if you are caught in an illegal sexual act. You and your partner can both be charged. If only one of the partners is over the legal age of consent and the other is not , the former can be charged while the latter cannot. If the act takes place on school or daycare grounds and one of the participants was a teacher or other school employee at the time of the offense, the participant who was hired by the school may be charged with a class 1 felony even if the partner is under the legal age of consent.
The penalties for a conviction for illegal sexual conduct in Illinois is imprisonment for one to three years and a fine of up to $25,000. If the defendant has had prior convictions in an Illinois or any other state, the imprisonment can be increased.
The only affirmative defenses to the above provisions are:
Sexual criminal offenses in Illinois under 720 ILCS 4020 are felonies right away. However, if a plea bargain includes a concession to a lesser crime, it may be possible for the defendant to avoid a felony record, which can also prevent him or her from having a state-imposed curfews or losing his or her teaching credentials.
Legal Consequences for Age of Consent Violation
Violating the Illinois age of consent laws is considered a serious crime. Charges involving sex with a minor may be filed as a misdemeanor or felony. Illinois state law does not allow parents to grant legal permission for an adult to engage in sexual activity with their child. Age of consent prohibitions in Illinois cover indecent acts, child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child, and other sexual crimes.
An adult charged with violating the Illinois age of consent laws may face charges that include:
Unlawful sexual conduct with a person;
Criminal sex act in the first degree.
The penalties for violating Illinois age of consent laws depend on the age difference between the victim and perpetrator. These consequences may also include fines and mandatory sex offender registration. The consequences are as follows:
Under 18 years of age with a defendant older than 17 years, then
Class A Misdemeanor: Sex offense with minors under 10
Class 4 felony: Sex offense with minors at least 9 years old but under 17.
Class 3 felony: Sex offense with victims 18 years of age.
Class 2 felony: Sex offense with victims age 19 or older if the defendant has a previous conviction.
Class 1 felony: Sex offense with victims 18 years of age if the defendant has a previous conviction.
Class 2 felony: Victim under 17 years of age
Class 1 felony: Victim 17 years of age if the defendant has a previous conviction.
Criminal sexual abuse against a victim 13 years of age or older and under 17.
For egregious cases, the following charges apply:
Sexual assault
Rape.
Aggravated criminal sexual assault.
Involuntary servitude
Criminal sexual assault.
Sexual exploitation of a child
Criminal sexual abuse if the victim is under 17.
Criminal Exploitation of a child if the child is under 13.
Sexual exploitation of a disabled person.
The penalties for these offenses involve prison and mandatory sex offender registration.
The criminal laws regarding sex offenses are complex and if you violated the age of consent laws in Illinois, you should get a strong legal defense.
Romeo & Juliet Law in Illinois
The Romeo and Juliet law in Illinois is a provision designed to protect those who are in consensual sexual relationships, but may fall victim to criminal charges resulting from being sexual active with a partner who is close to them in age but below the legal age of consent. The law was enacted in 2000, and amended in 2009 to offer even broader protections.
Under Illinois’ law, no person can be prosecuted for criminal sexual conduct with a minor when the minor is at least 13 but less than 17 years of age, and the other person is less than five years (the minor’s "Romeo or Juliet") of the minor’s age at the time of the offense, provided that:
It is important to note that only the younger party to the sexual contact has the statutory right to offer this defense for a conviction; sex with a minor who is at least 16 years old is always illegal without an affirmative defense. In addition, the law does not preclude the prosecution of a person over 18 who engages in sexual contact with a minor under 13 years old, including by setting the minimum age of a defendant at 18 to avoid a statutory rape charge.
Age of Consent vs. Age of Majority
An important distinction in Illinois Sex Laws is that between the Age of Consent and the Age of Majority. A person over 17 years of age can consent to sexual activity without it being a criminal offense. The Age of Consent for sexual activity is 17 years of age; a person under the age of 17 who commits an act of sexual intercourse with a person over the age of 17 may be subject to criminal prosecution for criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault or criminal sexual abuse.
The Age of Majority generally refers to a person over the age of 18 years of age, though it can also refer to a person under 18 who has been emancipated by a court. We have often had clients seek advice as to their potential criminal liability in sexual activity with a person under the age of 17, but over the age of 18 years. Although the person over the age of 18 (the defendant) is the adult, his exposure under the statute is based upon his choice to engage in sexual activity with a minor. However, in the civil jurisdiction of the Illinois Family Court , the Court gives full weight to the Age of Majority – since that is the legal status of the parties in this non-criminal context. We often hear clients’ attorneys say – "why should I be punished by the Court for the crime by being ordered to pay child support?" The answer lies in the fact that the Family law attorney is not making the decision to follow the statute. The Family Court merely enforces the law as written by the legislature.
This distinction also applies in law relating to Marriage and Divorce. The Age of Majority is 18 years of age and a person cannot be compelled to remain married against his or her will.
Many Age of Consent laws, as with Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act, provide that the Age of Consent is lowered for individuals in a position of authority. Thus an adult in a position of authority cannot have sex with an individual under the age of 18, even if the Age of Consent is 17 years of age. For example, an officer of the court is considered to be in a position of authority – even if the minor is legally emancipated.
Juvenile Court law also recognizes a difference between the Age of Majority and the Age of Consent. If an individual is charged with a sexual offense which occurred before he was 17 years of age, it can be prosecuted in Juvenile Court. Since the juvenile is still considered to be within the jurisdiction of his parents, the case proceeds differently.
Understanding Consent and Why it Matters
Consent is the foundation of sexual relationships across both the adult and the adolescent populations. It is vital that sexual relationships are entered into knowingly, freely, and willingly by both parties; in their absence, a relationship is marked by misunderstanding, mistakes, and manipulation. While consent is important at all ages, its significance is particularly pronounced in the case of minors; minors lack the legal capacity to give consent, making any sexual interaction with them a criminal act. When it comes to sexual relationships between minors and adults, Illinois law places the age of consent at the age of 17 for both boys and girls; that is to say that 17 years of age is the minimum age at which both males and females gain the legal capacity to consent to sexual activity. Further, the act of consent must be informed, meaning that both parties should have a sound understanding of relevant issues before agreeing to sexual conduct together. In any case, consent can only be given through affirmative action; a person cannot give consent by refusing to fight back, and consent cannot be assumed or inferred.
Reporting and Seeking Help for Violations
It is no secret that most sexual abuse cases go unreported, and the vast majority of those are never handled by the legal system. Certainly this comes in many forms, from street harassment to a family member raping another family member. These are difficult situations because in cases where the victim knows the offender, or where the offender is a family member, the chances of reporting any crime are slim. When it comes to more general, abstracted societal sexual abuse, people tend to be quicker to alert law enforcement to criminal behavior, even if there ties to a personal connection with the offender.
Chicago Illinois police precincts continue to report new allegations of sexual assault and abuse against individuals as recent as the summer of 2019. There is no doubt that with complete accessibility to the internet and online social media, sexual abuse offenders can take on an "internet persona" and use the information they gather to terrorize individuals into silence with idle threats of "exposure" .
For this reason, and many others, individuals who are aware that abuse may be occurring, or victim of sexual abuse themselves, should always report these violations to law enforcement as a first option.
The Chicago Illinois Police Department makes reporting a violation simple, with an easy to navigate website and several resources tied to victims of sexual abuse or assault.
The Chicago Illinois Police Department can be researched by visiting their website at www.chicagopolice.org. Select the "Victim Assistance" option from the menu to find a list of support services (which includes information on how to report a crime) or feel free to report where the crime took place on the above general URL.
The Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Chicago is a member of the national sexual violence hotline network. The above website contains an online library of resources with additional pages and links for victims of sexual abuse or assault.
Please feel free to visit the personal blogs or websites of your local precinct or law enforcement office for information on how to report a violation specifically to your area.
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