Does Statutory Rape Law Apply When Both Parties to Non-Forcible Sex Acts Are Under 13 Years of Age?

Case Questions Identifying One Child As Perpetrator, Other as Victim

In re: D.B., a minor child, Case no. 2010-0240

5th District Court of Appeals (Licking County)

ISSUE: When two children who are both under the age of 13 engage in sexual activity with each other, and there is no finding of force or coercion, does a juvenile court violate the equal protection and due process clauses of the U.S. and Ohio Constitutions by charging one of the participants with statutory rape under R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(b)?

BACKGROUND: R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(b), a subsection of Ohio's statutory rape statute, prohibits any person from "engaging in sexual conduct with another person when ... the other person is less than 13 years of age." In order to obtain a conviction under R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(b), which is a strict liability statute, the state is required to prove only that an "other person" engaged in sexual conduct with child under the age of 13.