I am wondering what my rights are regarding my childs developing friendship with a 23 year old male counselor from summer camp. There are daily emails, phone calls, and letters. What can I tell her as far as what could happen if they were to take this "friendship" to a relationship that involved as little as kissing? I don't want it to get even that far, so I want some concrete data on our laws. It seems that Iowa is very low in the age of consent and I was surprised by that. Can you tell me more.

The age of consent in IOWA is 16; however, if a 23 year old is showing "interest" of a sexual nature in a 14 year old, especially when he was someone in a position of authority over her at a camp, he may be in violation of a few laws and could get into very serious criminal legal trouble if anything has occurred between them.

As the parent of a 14 year old, you have the legal authority, the right, and the responsibility to tell the 23 year old to stop contacting your daughter or face possible criminal actions. If he continues, contact your local authorities and report him to police. He may also be in violation of internet communication laws with minors especially due to the fact that he knows your daughters true age.

Click here to review the IOWA Sexual Abuse laws [1]