Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in Texas

In texas,

Is it legal for a 21 yr old and a 17 year old to have sex?

If so,

If the legal guardians are suspicious of sex prior to their child being 17, can they legally retrieve deleted emails/texts/aim/yahoo IMs?


Asked on 6/16/10, 8:44 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

I believe the age of consent in Texas is 17, but there is a defense to prosecution if the minor is 14-16 and you are within 3 years of age of him or her. If you were not within 3 years of age of the individual, it could be prosecuted because the fact that the individual is 17 now does not change the fact that a crime was committed while under the age of consent.

If the guardians are concerned and become serious about keeping you away, they may be able to take out a protective order to keep you away from their ward. If you break the order, you could be facing charges.

...about the guardian's retrieving emails, texts etc. Are they paying for the accounts and if so they may have a right. There could be a right of privacy issue but is this something you want to put yourself and her/him and not something that can be postponed until later, thereby making everyone happier.

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Answered on 6/17/10, 7:56 am


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