Under age 16, what is the status of consent?

• A. The victim can consent to sexual activity
• B. You cannot consent to anything and investigation has to show that sexual contact did occur and that their age was known or should have been known by the defender
• C. The age is irrelevant to the investigation
• D. The defender is automatically liable

Answer: (B)

Under 16, there is no legal capacity to consent to sexual activity. The law treats any sexual contact with someone that young as illegal, regardless of what the minor says or agrees to. In practice, an investigation focuses on proving that sexual contact occurred and on the offender’s knowledge of the victim’s age. If the defender knew or should have known the age, that knowledge can affect charges and penalties. So the correct understanding is that consent cannot be given by someone this young, and the case hinges on showing the contact occurred and the age context, not on the minor’s supposed agreement.