Maine Statutory Rape Laws

Maine law makes it illegal for a person to have consensual sexual activity with a minor younger than 16, with a few exceptions (see below). Anyone who engages in such unlawful conduct can face charges for gross sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, or a sexual contact crime.

Statutory rape laws are premised on the assumption that minors are incapable of giving informed consent to sexual activities. The age of consent can vary among states, and some states differentiate between consensual sex between minors who are close in age (for example, two teenagers of the same age), as opposed to sex between a minor and a much older adult. Keep in mind that engaging in any sexual activity without the other person's consent can result in more serious charges and penalties, no matter what the age of the other person.

What Is the Age of Consent in Maine?

In Maine, the age of consent is 16. Anyone who engages in sexual activity with a child younger than 16 can face charges for statutory rape or a similar crime. For these age-based sexual offenses, it's immaterial whether the child consented to the activity or not. The child's age is the important fact, as it determines whether that person can legally consent to sexual activities.

Maine's Statutory Rape Laws and Penalties

Statutory rape is prosecuted under Maine's rape and sex crime laws. Penalties depend on the ages of the defendant and victim and the type of conduct that occurred (sexual acts, contact, or touching). Second and subsequent convictions can result in harsher penalties.

Sexual act means sexual contact between people consisting of oral, genital, or anal sex or penetration, however slight.

Sexual contact occurs when the offender, for purposes of sexual gratification or arousal, touches the genitals or anus of the minor, directly or through clothing, or for purposes of causing bodily injury or offensive physical contact.

Sexual touching includes any touching of the breasts, buttocks, groin, or inner thigh, directly or through clothing, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.

Gross Sexual Assault: Crime and Penalties

A person commits gross sexual assault by engaging in a sexual act when the victim is younger than 14. Gross sexual assault constitutes a Class A crime, punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. When the victim is younger than 12, the offender faces a mandatory minimum term of 20 years in prison.

Sexual Abuse of a Minor: Crime and Penalties

An offender commits sexual abuse of a minor by engaging in a sexual act with a child age 14 or 15 when the defendant is at least 5 years older than the victim. This unlawful conduct is a Class D crime, which carries penalties of less than one year of incarceration and a $2,000 fine. If the defendant is at least 10 years older than the child, it is a Class C crime, punishable by up to five years' imprisonment and a $5,000 fine.

Unlawful Sexual Contact: Crime and Penalties

A person is guilty of unlawful sexual contact if the bad actor intentionally subjects another person to any sexual contact and one of the following is also true:

• the victim is younger than 14 and the defendant is at least 3 years older, or
• the victim is age 14 or 15 and the defendant is at least 10 years older.

Unlawful sexual contact is punished more severely if the act includes penetration or if the victim is younger than 12.

The punishment for unlawful sexual contact varies from Class A to Class D crimes, depending on the age of the victim and whether penetration occurs. For example, when the victim is younger than 12, the defendant is at least 3 years older than the minor victim, and the conduct includes penetration, the state can charge the defendant with a Class A crime, subjecting them to 30 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Unlawful Sexual Touching: Crime and Penalties

A person commits the crime of unlawful sexual touching by touching another's breasts, buttocks, or groin for a sexual purpose, and the victim is younger than 14, while the offender is at least 5 years older than the minor child. Unlawful sexual touching constitutes a Class D crime. This level of crime exposes a guilty defendant to less than one year of incarceration and a $2,000 fine.

Maine's Statutory Rape Laws Applicable to the Teacher-Student Relationship

For the above crimes, Maine has special rules that apply to teachers and school employees when the victim is a student in the same school district. For instance, gross sexual assault constitutes a Class C crime when the student is of any age. Sexual abuse of a minor results in a Class E charge if the teacher is at least 21 years old and the student is 16 or 17. Unlawful sexual contact between a teacher and student is a Class D crime, unless there is penetration, then the crime becomes a Class C offense. A teacher who engages in the unlawful sexual touching of a student faces a Class D conviction.

Does Maine Have a Romeo-and-Juliet Law?

In many states, "Romeo-and-Juliet" exceptions—named for Shakespeare's teenage lovers—protect young people from criminal charges for engaging in consensual sexual conduct with others close to their age. Maine has Romeo-and-Juliet laws but with some limitations.

Maine's Romeo-and-Juliet exemptions apply only when consensual sexual conduct involves close-in-age minors who are at least 14. For example, Maine's sexual abuse of a minor law doesn't criminalize consensual sex between someone who is 14 or 15 years old and someone who is no more than 5 years older. Under this provision, a 17-year-old who engages in a consensual sexual act with a 14-year-old could not be prosecuted for a crime. Similar exemptions apply in the unlawful sexual contact and touching laws.

Defenses to a Statutory Rape Charge in Maine

Defendants charged with sex-related crimes of minors in Maine have several potential defenses available to them. At the same time, the law prohibits or limits the use of certain defenses.

Actual innocence. Defendants charged with statutory rape or a similar crime have the usual defenses available to all criminal defendants, such as "Someone else committed this crime," or "The alleged conduct did not occur."

Consent. While many offenders attempt to use consent as a defense, this does not constitute a sufficient defense in sex crime prosecutions involving a victim younger than 16 in Maine.

Mistake of age. Defendants accused of statutory rape often claim that they had no reason to know that their partner was underage. They may argue that the victim themselves represented that they were older than they really were, and that a reasonable person would have believed them. Unlike most states, Maine does recognize a mistake-of-age defense for statutory rape crimes in some circumstances. It is a defense to a charge of sexual abuse of a minor age 14 or 15 that the unlawful actor believed the child was at least 16 years old at the time of the offense. The defendant's belief, however, must be reasonable.

Marriage. It is a defense to a charge of gross sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, unlawful sexual contact, or unlawful sexual touching that the defendant and the victim are married. This defense is part of the marital rape exemption. Spouses who are legally married but living apart are not considered "married" for purposes of this defense.

Does Sex Offender Registration Apply to Statutory Rape Crimes in Maine?

Maine's Sex Offender Registration law requires, in addition to the applicable fines and incarceration time, people convicted of certain sexual crimes (including statutory rape) to register as sex offenders.

Depending on the level of the offense, registration lasts from 10 years to life. Maine divides its sex offenses into tiers. The tier designation of a particular sex crime determines the length of sex offender registration. For example, gross sexual assault of a minor is a tier 3 crime, which means a guilty defendant must remain on the registry for life.

Failure to register can result in additional criminal charges ranging from a Class D crime to a Class B crime and the associated penalties.

Talk to a Lawyer

If you are facing charges of statutory rape or a similar crime, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney in your area as soon as possible. A lawyer can evaluate the strength of the prosecution's case against you and help develop any defenses that might apply to the unique circumstances of your case. A knowledgeable attorney can also advise you on how the law will apply to your set of facts.

(Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A, §§ 251, 253, 254, 255-A, 260, 1601, 1604, 1704, tit. 34-A, §§ 11272, 11273, 11282, 11285, 11288 (2023).)