The laws determining the age of consent in the State of Oklahoma can be confusing. In this article we discuss Oklahoma's age of consent laws, the Romeo and Juliet exemption, punishments for statutory rape, and address some frequently asked questions.
The legal age of consent in the state of Oklahoma is 16 years old. This means it is illegal for a minor 15 years of age or younger to have consensual sex with an adult who is at least 18 years old. Oklahoma is one of many states in the U. The state of Oklahoma has a close-in-age exemption for statutory rape.
The close-in-age exemption is known as the " Romeo and Juliet law ". The Romeo and Juliet law was implemented to prevent the prosecution of couples under the legal age 18 who engage in consensual sex when both participants are significantly close in age to each other, and one or both are below the legal age.
Under Oklahoma law , sexual intercourse with a person considered legally unable to consent is considered statutory rape. Oklahoma statutes include the following as unable to give legal consent:. Statutory rape is a strict liability crime. This means prosecutors are NOT required to prove that an assault occurred. But it is still classified as rape under the Oklahoma penal code. Now, Oklahoma has passed a law to create a definition of sexual consent and to add unconsciousness and intoxication as circumstances of forcible sodomy.
Read more about forcible sodomy here. The term "consent " means the affirmative, unambiguous and voluntary agreement to engage in a specific sexual activity during a sexual encounter which can be revoked at any time.
