Last Updated on September 3, 2024
The age of consent in California is 18. Oddly, while you have to be 18 to get married without your parent’s permission, you can marry at any age as long as you have parental consent —and those who are legally married are excluded from the state’s statutory rape laws. Here’s what you should know about child marriage in California and how it works with the state’s sex crime laws.
Child Marriage Laws in California
Many people are shocked when they discover there is technically no minimum legal age to get married in California. As long as a minor has the permission of one parent and a judge consents to the union, a marriage can go forward no matter how young the child is. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the state’s laws, California has the sixth highest rate of child marriage in the United States.
In recent years, when California legislators have tried to increase the minimum legal age to marry to 18, lobbyists have stopped their efforts, arguing that underage marriages offer some juveniles the opportunity to get out of the foster system, away from their abusive parents, or to raise a child conceived out of wedlock with married parents. A change to the state’s marriage laws in 2018 added some protections for minors attempting to marry though, requiring a 30 day waiting period for marriage licenses unless the underage party is over 17 and a high school graduate, or one of the parties is pregnant. Additionally, in all cases, the two parties and the minor’s parents must now meet individually with a court official to assess whether abuse or coercion has played a role in the agreement to marry.
Does California Recognize Child Marriages from Other Locations?
Yes. California recognizes most marriages involving one or more underage parties that were performed in either another state or another country.
Legal Age of Consent Vs. Age to Get Married in California
While the state’s statutory rape laws prohibit anyone from having sex with a minor under 18 (even another juvenile), anyone married is legally allowed to have sexual relations with their spouse. Many argue this loophole allows child sexual predators to bypass the state’s laws against sex with minors, leaving the juvenile trapped in an abusive relationship.
Notably, it is still illegal for anyone other than the minor’s spouse to have sex with them, and the couple is only legally allowed to have sex after they are married. If one party gets pregnant and they decide to get married as a result, prosecutors could still press charges related to the sexual encounter prior to the marriage.
While it can be rare for prosecutors to file statutory rape charges against a couple getting married when one of the parties is underage, it is more likely to happen if the age difference is particularly drastic or if the minor is particularly young. The laws requiring a court official to determine if coercion or abuse has occurred may also result in statutory rape charges being filed in these cases, as long as the juvenile admits this information to the judge while being interviewed privately before the marriage.
Child Pornography and Child Marriage
While there is a loophole in the state’s statutory rape laws when it comes to the legal age for a juvenile to marry in California, there is no such loophole when it comes to child pornography laws. Whether or not two parties are married, photographs, videos, or other recordings of a minor involved in sexual activity or nude are considered child porn. If the images have been shared with anyone else, the charges could go beyond simple possession or creation of child pornography and include the distribution of child pornography.
These charges should be taken very seriously, even if the images depict your spouse. If you have been accused of this crime, talk to a lawyer as soon as possible. Do not speak to the police without your attorney present.
If you have any questions about the age when it is legal to marry someone in California or how these laws affect the state’s sex crime offenses, attorney Peter M. Liss can help. Please call (760) 643-4050 to schedule a free initial consultation.
