Iowa criminal law handbook

Call us at 1 Iowa Statutory Rape Laws. Statutes governing Iowa's age of consent, associated criminal charges, available defenses, and penalties for conviction. Getting Legal Guidance The information in this article provides an overview of the law relating to statutory rape. If you are trying to determine the legality of any kind of conduct, make sure to consult an experienced criminal defense attorney.

The law is complex and changes regularly. Under Iowa's laws, a person commits sexual abuse in the third degree by engaging in a sex act with any child age 12 or 13, or a child age 14 or 15 when: the defendant and the child are related or live in the same household the defendant is in a position of authority over the child and coerces the child into participating, or the defendant is four or more years older than the child.

A person commits the crime of indecent contact by fondling a child under the age of 14 when: the defendant is over the age of 18, or the defendant is age 16 or 17 and the child is five years or more younger. Iowa's Child Enticement Law Inviting, talking about, or arranging to meet a child to engage in sexual activity can result in a conviction for child enticement , even if nothing sexual ever occurs between the defendant and the child.

Potential Defenses to a Statutory Rape Charge in Iowa Marriage Exception to Statutory Rape In Iowa, it is a defense to a charge of sexual abuse in the second degree or indecent contact with a child that the defendant and the child are married or living together as a couple. The "Romeo and Juliet" Exception: When Both Partners are Underage Named for Shakespeare's teenage lovers, many states, including Iowa, have exceptions that protect young people from criminal charges for engaging in sexual conduct with people close to their own age.

Mistake as to the Child's Age It is not a defense to a charge of sexual abuse, indecent contact, or sexual exploitation that the defendant believed the child to be of the age of consent , even if that belief was reasonable. Sex Offender Registration Under Iowa's sex offender registration law , people who are convicted of indecent contact, sexual abuse of children, and child exploitation are required to register.

Getting Legal Help A statutory rape conviction in Iowa has serious consequences. Updated September 6, Talk to a Lawyer Need a lawyer? Start here. Practice Area Please select Contributors consider the basic topics traditionally addressed in scholarship on the general and special parts of the substantive criminal law such as jurisdiction, mens rea, justifications, and excuses.

Part IV places criminal law in context, both domestically and transnationally, by exploring the contrasts between criminal law and other species of law and state power and by investigating criminal law's place in the projects of comparative law, transnational, and international law. Popular Books. The Summer Proposal by Vi Keeland. End of Days by Brad Taylor. Minnesota 2.

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