Sweet sixteen? Not in Illinois. Teenage sex is a serious criminal offense.

Teenage romance. Sex offender registration. What is the connection?

Seventeen years old is the age of consent in Illinois. That's the law. Consensual sex between two persons who are under 17 years of age is a criminal offense. Look it up at 720 ILCS 5/12-15.

Consensual sex between two minors, boy and girl, or two minors of the same gender, is criminal sexual abuse. Criminal sexual abuse is a Class A misdemeanor offense that is punishable by up to one year imprisonment and a fine of $2,500.00. During sentencing, the judge is authorized to sentence the accused to probation as opposed to incarceration.

But it's just a misdemeanor, right?

Wrong.

The offense of criminal sexual abuse is a very serious matter for one simple reason: a finding of guilt requires the defendant to register as a sex offender.

Sex offender registration lasts for a minimum period of 10 years. That means the offender's face will be published online in the sex offender registry and the State will impose conditions as to where the offender may live and work, and so on. And once a person is registered as a sex offender, it is almost impossible to comply with the law. This results in the 10-year period for registration getting extended over and over again.

Teenage love doesn't seem so innocent anymore, does it?

Let's look at the statute. What is criminal sexual abuse?

By definition, it is not abuse as most people know it.

Although criminal sexual abuse charges can be filed for non-consensual sex acts with a minor, the offense is far more commonly charged for consensual sex.

Criminal sexual abuse is sexual penetration (sex organs, fingers, tongue, etc. put on or into a body orifice), or sexual conduct (touching or fondling of private parts) between two persons who are both under 17 years old. The victim must be at least 9 years of age, or the charge becomes a felony.

State lawmakers knew of the prevalence of relationships between teenage girls and older boys (or men, depending on the circumstances), and they wrote in an exception to the law.

Sort of.

If the victim is at least 13 years old but less than 17 and has consensual sex, it is still only a misdemeanor as long as the perpetrator was less than 5 years older. 

So, for a 20 year old to have sex with a 16 year old, it is a misdemeanor, not a felony offense. But if the offender is 21 years old, then the sex becomes a felony.

Now, to be clear, all of the above presumes that the two persons involved are not family members. If that is the case, then the age of consent is 18 years old, not 17. But a family member can consent only to sexual conduct (touching or fondling) but not intercourse, because that would be incest. Incest is called sexual relations with families under Illinois law and is a Class 3 felony punishable by 2-5 years imprisonment.

If the accused is 5 years older than the victim (who is under 17) and they have sex, it is called aggravated criminal sexual abuse. This is a Class 2 felony, which has a sentencing range of 3-7 years in prison and a fine of $25,000. Although the judge can give the defendant probation, the defendant must first submit to a sex offender evaluation.

A person charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse will be held on bond until the trial date. The typical bond for these offenses can be, on the very low end, $50,000, and on the high end, $1,000,000. The defendant will need 10% in order to get released from jail.

Although probation is possible, it is not likely. This is not an offense for which the defendant wants to sit through a sentencing hearing. When the victim and victim's mother testify, that's when the defendant should start praying for probation, because it will be terribly emotional for the victim. The accused is likely to see many years in prison.

And it happens that very few sex offenders cop a plea. Most want to go to trial, so these cases are all or nothing affairs. Either the defendant gets acquitted or he does a lot of time. That being said, there are many people who are arrested for sex offenses who are innocent, and they should demand trial.

Are there any defenses to criminal sexual abuse?

Yes.

It is a defense that the accused thought the victim was 17. But, the belief that the person was 17 years old must be a reasonable belief. The question of what constitutes a reasonable belief is for the jury to decide. Juries can be very unpredictable, but it would stand to reason that if the perpetrator checked the victim's ID beforehand, that is probably a reasonable belief. Anything other than that, and the defendant has to take his (or her) chances.

It is irrelevant whether the boy and girl are in a relationship or plan to marry. The two could be high school sweethearts, but the law is the law.

These cases come up frequently in teenage pregnancy. Typically, it is the boy that is arrested. Whether it's a good idea to make a child's father a sex offender for life because the child was conceived during the mom's teenage years is up for debate. But no state lawmaker is going to campaign on a promise to reform sex offenses.

So, I'll finish by answering the one question that so many people want to know.

How many cases are there for criminal sexual abuse?

More than you would ever believe.

Lewis Gainor, the author of this blog, is a lawyer in Chicago who dedicates his practice to defending clients accused of serious sex offenses. He is a member of the exclusive federal trial bar. If you have been charged with criminal sexual abuse, you need qualified counsel. Call Lewis Gainor right now at (224) 688-9118.