I have a now 20 year old nephew,who has a child with a 17 year old girl. At the time of conception he was 19 and she was 16,there is 3 years and 4 months difference in age. He is trying to do everything he can for the child but is having trouble with her family, and gets little to no time with the baby. He is unsure if he has any rights due to the age and age difference.We are very worried of the statutory rape laws and don't really know where he stands.

The rights of the Father

Many fathers mistakenly believe that they have few rights when it comes to the custody or lives of their kids. Contrary to this belief, Fathers have the same legal rights as Mothers.

For his own confidence and knowledge, it would be advisable for your nephew to contact a local attorney or your community legal aid office for assistance with drawing up proper documents for support and a court order for visitation with his child. I would also recommend your nephew contact the Cabinet for Health and Family Services in Kentucky to learn more about his rights as father. They are the state agency to contact on the support and parental rights issues for the state of Kentucky.

Age of consent issue

The age of consent to have sexual intercourse in Kentucky is 16. Your nephew would not be charged with statutory rape as long as his girlfriend was 16 years of age when they had sexual intercourse. Based on the information in your question, the law was not violated. There is no reference to age difference within the law.

The actual law is titled Kentucky Statute 510.202 Lack of Consent which is a little confusing. By law, a minor under the age of 16 is not legally capable of consenting to sexual intercourse; therefore, it is deemed that if a 15 year old willingly agreed to the sexual intercourse with an 19 year old, there was no force involved, from a legal standpoint, there is "no consent" and therefore it would be a violation of 510.020.

510.020 Lack of consent.

See bolded area below.

(1) Whether or not specifically stated, it is an element of every offense defined in this chapter that the sexual act was committed without consent of the victim.
(2) Lack of consent results from:
(a) Forcible compulsion;
(b) Incapacity to consent; or
(c) If the offense charged is sexual abuse, any circumstances in addition to forcible compulsion or incapacity to consent in which the victim does not expressly or impliedly acquiesce in the actor's conduct.
(3) A person is deemed incapable of consent when he is:
(a) Less than sixteen (16) years old;
(b) Mentally retarded or suffers from a mental illness;
(c) Mentally incapacitated; or
(d) Physically helpless.
Effective: July 15, 1988

History: Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 283, sec. 10, effective July 15, 1988. -- Created
1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 82, effective January 1, 1975.

(Kentucky State statute last checked for revisions July 6, 2007)