What are the statuatory rape laws in MA ? I heard that you become an
adult in the eyes of the criminal justice system at 17 in
Massachusetts, and I would like to know at what age do the rape laws
start applying. Please include a quote from the law. Thanks

Hi! Thanks for the question.

The people protected against statutory rape are those under the age of 16 in MA.

"Whoever unlawfully has sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual
intercourse, and abuses a child under sixteen years of age shall, for
the first offense, be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for
life or for any term of years..."

"Chapter 265: Section 23 Rape and abuse of child"
http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/265-23.HTM


"The law under which a boy can be charged with ?statutory rape? in
Massachusetts is Chap. 265 §23."

"It protects any person 15-years or younger from sexual intercourse,
whether or not they consent and wish to have it. Although the law does
not specify that only girls are protected, a District Attorney has
great discretion as to when he will charge someone with the crime."

"Instruction Manual for Teenage Boys About ?Statutory Rape?"
http://www.massnews.com/2002_editions/03_Mar/20502ed_rape.htm


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"Chapter 265: Section 23" statutory rape MA

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Request for Answer Clarification by ebayer137-ga on 04 Jun 2004 17:38 PDT

Just to clarify if a girl is 16 or older they are "legal" but 15 and
under is not no matter the age of the male. Around here the popular
beleif is that if you are under 18 anything is OK, once you are over
18 the girl must be over 18, but I guess that is not correct. Just one
more thing, is there a way you can find out realistically what the
sentences are for a first offense, maby an average sentence.

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Clarification of Answer by easterangel-ga on 04 Jun 2004 17:59 PDT

Yes if the person is 16 years old or above, it is legal. A document I
found shows that the average sentence was 57.6 months but such cases
also include forcible rape since according to lawyers, they classify
these as well as statutory in nature.

"As previously indicated, the crime of statutory rape is covered under
Massachusetts General Law Chapter 265, Section 23, Rape and Abuse of a
Child. In fiscal year 1994 (ending June 30, 1994), there were a total
of 165 convictions under this law. Among the 165 convictions, 126
convicts were actually incarcerated for an incarceration rate of 76
percent.44 Those individuals sentenced under this statute received an
average sentence of 57.6 months.45 A critical point to note is that
these statistics include convictions
for forcible rape and not merely statutory rape. Prosecutors have
informed MFI staff that cases of suspected forcible rape are often
tried under the statutory rape provisions (M.G.L. 265.23), owing to
the comparative ease of gaining a conviction under the statutory rape
law, which, furthermore carries an equal sentence (up to life
imprisonment) as the forcible rape statutes."

"STATUTORY RAPE"
http://www.mafamily.org/Statutory%20Rape%20Report.pdf

Thanks!

Very Good Answer, Also explained very well. Great Researcher, Clarified Answer Fast

The price you offering probably won't attract a lot of researchers. A
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tutuzdad-ga

I am not looking for a large answer, basically i want to know what the
penalties are and how the law defines statuatory rape. thats it, just
a simple quote from the law copy and paste and your done.