Sex with a minor by mutual consent: how and will you have to answer?

ST 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

1. Sexual intercourse with a person under the age of sixteen, committed by a person who has reached the age of eighteen, is punishable by compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours, or by restriction of freedom for a term of up to four years, or by forced labor for a term of up to four years with deprivation of rights hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years or without it, or imprisonment for a term of up to four years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to ten years or without it.

2. Sodomy or lesbianism with a person under the age of sixteen, committed by a person who has reached the age of eighteen, is punishable by forced labor for a term of up to five years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years or without it, or by imprisonment. for a term of up to six years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to ten years.

3. Acts provided for in parts one or two of this article, committed with a person who has reached the age of twelve, but has not reached the age of fourteen, are punishable by imprisonment for a term of three to ten years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to fifteen years or without it and with or without restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years.

4. Acts provided for in parts one, two or three of this article, committed against two or more persons, are punishable by imprisonment for a term of eight to fifteen years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to twenty years or without such.

5. Acts provided for in parts one, two, three or four of this article, committed by a group of persons, a group of persons by prior conspiracy or an organized group, are punishable by imprisonment for a term of twelve to twenty years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities. for a term of up to twenty years or without it and with restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years or without it.

6. Acts provided for in part three of this article, committed by a person who has a criminal record for a previously committed crime against the sexual integrity of a minor, are punishable by imprisonment for a term of fifteen to twenty years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to twenty years. or life imprisonment.

Notes.

1. A person who has committed a crime for the first time, provided for in the first part of this article, shall be released by the court from punishment if it is established that this person and the crime he committed have ceased to be socially dangerous due to marriage with the victim.

2. If the age difference between the victim (victim) and the defendant (defendant) is less than four years, the latter shall not be punished by imprisonment for the committed act provided for in part one of this article or part one of article 135 of this Code.

Age of consent in the Russian Federation

Legally, there is no such concept either in the Criminal Code or in the Family Code of the Russian Federation. A similar meaning is used in Western countries and denotes the age at which a teenager should already be aware of what he is doing, what he is agreeing to and what the consequences may be, and there will be no criminal liability for an intimate relationship with him (if everything was mutual).

In the Russian Federation, this concept and, in general, the subjectivity and objectivity of a crime against the sexual freedom of minors does not have a clear definition.

According to Articles 131 and 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, intimate relations with a person under 16 years of age is considered a criminal offense. But the subject, that is, the accused, can only be one who has already reached 18 years of age.

Consequently: if the intimate relationship was by mutual consent and both teenagers were under 18 years old, then they will not bear criminal liability. But, this should not be confused with rape, where everything happens against the will of the victim. Such a crime is serious, therefore responsibility for it begins at the age of 16, and if there are aggravating circumstances (a group of people, a beating that resulted in the death of the victim), then the crime is qualified as especially serious and responsibility begins at the age of 14.

Article 131 of the Criminal Code states that if an intimate relationship was with a person 12 years of age or younger, then such actions will in any case be interpreted as rape, since at this age a person cannot fully understand what is happening and is in a helpless state.

Have a question for a lawyer? Ask now, call and get a free consultation from leading lawyers in your city. We will answer your questions quickly and try to help with your specific case.

Telephone in Moscow and the Moscow region: +7

Phone in St. Petersburg and Leningrad region: +7

Free hotline throughout Russia: 8 (800) 301-39-20

Second commentary to Art. 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

1. Victims of a crime provided for in the commented article can be persons of both sexes who have not reached the age of 16 years.

The age of the victim is not only the main, but also a qualifying and especially qualifying feature of this crime. So, according to Part 2 of Art. 134, the victim is a person who is known to the perpetrator to be under fourteen years of age, and according to Part 3 - twelve years of age.

2. Sexual intercourse, sodomy or lesbianism are interpreted in the same way as in the crimes provided for in Art. 131 and 132 of the Criminal Code.

A characteristic feature of this crime is the voluntariness of these sexual contacts.

3. The crime is completed from the moment of committing one of the actions specified in the law.

4. The subjective side contains guilt in the form of direct intent.

5. The subject of the crime is a male or female person who has reached the age of 18 years.

6. According to the note to Art. 131 of the Criminal Code, acts that fall under the elements of crimes provided for in parts 3-5 of the commented article refer to crimes covered by paragraph “b” of part 4 of Art. 131 or clause “b”, part 4, art. 132 of the Criminal Code.

7. Criminal record referred to in Part 6 of Art. 134, must not be withdrawn or repaid in accordance with the procedure established by law.

8. The notes to the commented article establish, firstly, a special type of exemption from punishment, and secondly, the rules for imposing punishment for a crime under Art. 134.

Is it possible to reconcile the parties?

According to Article 134 of the Criminal Code, reconciliation of the parties is possible, but if there are no aggravating circumstances in the crime.

A person who has had sexual intercourse with a minor may be released from criminal liability in two cases:

1. such a crime was committed for the first time, the person had not been brought to justice before, was not noticed or suspected of any criminal offense;
2. entering into an official marriage with the injured party. The law interprets this in such a way that the danger to society from the crime committed is neutralized.

Also, the court may consider the pregnancy of the victim and the recognition of paternity as a mitigating circumstance. But only from the age of 14.

Aggravating circumstances

The legislation also defines a range of circumstances in the presence of which the punishment is increased. These include:

• Lesbianism or sodomy. In other words, if violence is committed by a person of the same sex as the child, this is even more severe pedophilia. Which article exactly will be applied depends on the age of the child and whether it was violence or mutual desire.
• Violence against two or more persons, as well as sexual intercourse with several minors. In this case, not each case is considered separately, but all together.
• Sexual contact with minors by multiple persons. This may be group intercourse or intercourse with minors by a specific group of persons.
• Early prosecution under articles for violating the sexual integrity of minors is considered a recidivism and entails tougher penalties.

Changes in legislation

Since 2013, changes have been made to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: even if sexual intercourse occurred between the ages of 16 and 18, criminal liability can be imposed if it is proven that the teenager was involved in an intimate relationship to provide some services.

If during the investigation it is established that the teenager agreed to have sex for material gain, then the actions of the perpetrator will be reclassified from Article 134 to 240.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Pedophilia article of the Criminal Code 131 and 132

Sexual crimes against persons under twelve years of age are dealt with most harshly. When it comes to their sexual integrity, they are not punished under Article 134, but more severely - for rape and for violent acts of a sexual nature.

Young children are not able to understand what is happening to them, much less express their adequate agreement or disagreement on this matter. Therefore, even if a child agrees to some kind of sexual activity with an adult, this offense will in any case be considered violence against him. The article for pedophilia in this case provides for imprisonment for a period of 12 to 20 years.

Relationships between minors: what does the law say about them?

A popular proverb says: “Big children are big troubles.” It is clear that there are no ideal children and that at any age they not only please, but also upset their parents with bad behavior and misconduct. However, the most difficult period of growing up is adolescence. It seems to children that they are already adults, and they begin to taste this long-awaited adult life. And then the 16-year-old daughter comes to her parents and admits that she is pregnant or goes to live with her boyfriend. What should parents do? Often such problems must be considered not only from the moral and ethical side, but also from the legal side.

Parents often write to our editorial office, concerned that their minor children began to be sexually active early. Ivan Dolgov answered several of the most difficult, most intimate questions . Perhaps this article will help parents who find themselves in a similar situation understand their rights and responsibilities.

Question: “My daughter is a schoolgirl, studying in the 11th grade. She turned 16 this summer. On her birthday, she announced that she was now an adult and would live with her boyfriend. He is also 16. We don’t know whether she has the right to do this from the point of view of the law and if she leaves anyway, could we have problems with the guardianship authorities? After all, it turns out that the minor left home, and this is a reason for investigation.”

The issue is indeed very complex, not only from a moral, but also from a legal point of view. On the one hand, a teenager who has reached the age of 16 is recognized, in accordance with Article 26 of the Civil Code, as partially capable and endowed with a set of various rights.

For example, he can enter into small household transactions and independently manage his income. On the other hand, in accordance with Article 54 of the Family Code, a child is a person who has not reached the age of 18 years (the age of majority), that is, all the responsibilities of parents (or persons replacing them) also apply to 16-year-old children.

The same Article 54 of the Family Code secures the child’s right to live together with his parents, but Article 24 of the Civil Code obliges only children under 14 years of age to live with their parents.

It turns out that according to the law, a 16-year-old teenager can determine his own place of residence, while leaving all responsibilities for his upbringing and protection of his rights to his parents. In other words, in this case, parents still have to support the child, monitor his education and behavior.

In this case, the guardianship authorities have the right to conduct an appropriate inspection in order to find out the reasons for the separation and make sure that the parents did not force the child to leave home. If it is proven that the child’s rights were not violated in the family, these checks will not bring any negative consequences.

Question: “Our 17-year-old daughter is expecting a baby. She won't admit who the father is. Do we have the right to insist on a forensic examination to identify the father and bring him to justice?”

To answer this question, we need to consider several interrelated laws. The rules governing the establishment of paternity in court are universal for both adult parents and minors.

Article 49 of the Family Code provides for the establishment of a child’s origin from a specific person (paternity) in court at the request of one of the child’s parents or at the request of a person who is dependent on the child.

The court takes into account any evidence that reliably confirms the origin of the child from a specific person.

Based on this, it turns out that only your daughter has the right to establish paternity through the court, but you can try to prove that the child born is your dependent, then you have the right to demand an examination.

The complexity of the situation lies in the fact that your daughter is already 17 years old, and Article 62 of the Family Code gives minors who have reached the age of 16 the right to independently raise their child.

You will first have to prove through the court that the newborn child is your dependent. This will be very difficult to do, but if everything works out, you will be able to claim paternity.

What to do if the child’s father turns out to be an adult man, read below.

Responsibility

Firstly, in order to correctly qualify responsibility and establish the social danger of the act, the article divides relations with minors into:

• sexual intercourse committed by persons of opposite sexes;
• an act committed by persons of the same sex.

Thus, simply for copulation with a person under sixteen (provided that the partner has reached eighteen), without aggravating circumstances, liability is provided in the form of compulsory labor lasting a maximum of four hundred and eighty hours, restriction of freedom is also possible or, at the discretion of the court, forced labor for four years or less, with a possible restriction of the right to engage in certain types of activities or to hold certain positions for a maximum of three years.

It is also possible to impose imprisonment for up to four years, also with the possibility of restricting the right to engage in certain activities or hold certain positions - up to ten years.

Same-sex sexual relations are punishable by forced labor for no more than five years with possible deprivation of the right to hold certain positions and engage in certain activities for a maximum of three years.

An alternative punishment is also imprisonment for up to six years, with a similar possibility of restricting the right to engage in certain types of activities or certain positions for up to ten years.

If the above was committed with two or more teenagers, the punishment will be imprisonment for a duration of eight to fifteen years with a possible restriction of the right to engage in certain types of activities or to occupy certain positions - up to twenty years.

Aggravating circumstances

An aggravating circumstance under the article in question will be the young age of the victim.

So, if the person with whom sexual intercourse was committed was over twelve, but under sixteen , the prescribed punishment will be imprisonment for a duration of three to ten years with possible restriction of the right to engage in certain types of activities or certain positions, as well as with the possibility of restriction of freedom for a period of up to two years.

Another aggravating circumstance is the commission of criminal acts as part of a group of persons by prior conspiracy or organized group.

In this case, the prescribed punishment will be imprisonment for a term of twelve to twenty years , with a possible restriction of the right to engage in certain types of activities or to hold certain positions for a term of up to twenty years and with the possibility of restriction of freedom for up to two years.

If the accused has previously been convicted of an identical or similar crime, then imprisonment will last from fifteen to twenty years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions, or imprisonment will be lifelong.

Qualification nuances

To qualify a criminal act means to identify in the actions or inaction of a person all the necessary fragments (signs, elements) of a criminal offense and reasonably correlate them with a specific article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation included in the special part.

Article 134 (like all others) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation describes the elements of criminal offenses, including:

1. Object – what is being harmed or can be harmed.
2. The objective side is a set of specific actions, objects with the help of which the act is committed, as well as the consequences.
3. The subjective side is how the criminal feels about the offense committed or being committed.
4. Subject is an individual who has committed or is committing a criminal act.

The qualification process is widespread and is used by both lawyers and ordinary people who, to one degree or another, come into contact with criminal law.

What is harmed and who is the victim?

According to the comments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the object of the crime is the health and integrity of a person’s sexual integrity; physical and moral development and education of minors.

Victims (victims) from such criminal attacks, within the meaning of article number 134 of the criminal law of Russia, are only minors, the so-called juveniles, and minors. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not provide a definition of the categories “minor” and “minor”, ​​thereby referring to other legislative acts (Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and others).

Although the article in question quite clearly indicates the age limits of protected persons:

• a boy or girl in the age range from 14 to 16 years;
• boy or girl in the age range of 12 to 14 years.

Important: adolescents who have been harmed must objectively evaluate and correctly perceive what is happening to them.

In addition, it is necessary for them to express their good will (consent) to enter into an intimate relationship or to take the initiative for this kind of intimacy. If in fact the situation is different, the actions of the accused (accused) should be regarded as sexual violence against a helpless person accordingly and qualified under a more serious article.

How is a criminal act committed and its consequences?

The composition of this criminal perversion is classified as formal. This means that for a criminal offense to be considered completed, the consequences (pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, etc.) are completely optional.

The tort is considered to have occurred simultaneously with the beginning of the actions listed in the disposition of the article:

1. Sexual intercourse (intercourse).
2. Act of sodomy.
3. The act of lesbianism.

These terms do not belong to the legal category.
Their definition falls within the competence of medical science – sexology. Sexual intercourse is physical intimacy between people of different sexes, accompanied by the insertion of the male genital organ into the vagina and suggesting the possibility of procreation (pregnancy).

Sodomy is physical intimacy between male homosexuals, accompanied by the insertion of the male genital organ of the active partner into the rectum of the passive one.

Lesbianism is physical intimacy between female homosexuals, accompanied by the satisfaction of sexual needs through physical contact with the partner’s genitals.

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the latest edition, the type and absence of any coercion (violent actions, threats, etc.) is a mandatory component of the construction of the objective side of the criminal offense provided for in Art. 134 of the criminal law of Russia. If a judge or investigator establishes a different act, it must be classified as more serious.

If, due to circumstances beyond the control of the attacker (someone placed him, was physically unable to commit sexual intercourse, etc.), the crime did not take place, an attempt takes place.

Preparation is considered to be the deliberate creation of the environment or necessary conditions for pedophilia. For example, an attacker makes an appointment with the victim via the Internet or in another way, but he does not come for some reason.

How does the criminal feel about the act and what motivates him?

The article for pedophilia provides for the possibility of committing a criminal act only with direct intent.
This form of guilt involves:

• awareness of the illegality and punishability of the act committed in full;
• foreseeing the inevitability of harm to the interests of the child;
• desire to commit a prohibited act.

Important: the materials of the criminal case must contain sufficient evidence that the offender had information about the age of the child or consciously admitted that he (she) had not reached the age of sixteen.

The motivation that prompted the crime is not particularly important. As a rule, such subjects are driven by the need to satisfy perverted sexual desires.

Who commits the crime?

Persons subject to liability for perversions of this type are sane adult men and women.

Important: reaching the age of majority at the time of the tort is an essential condition. In the absence of other conditions, sexual contacts between minors are not criminal. Alcohol or drug intoxication at the time of the offense does not affect qualifications.

What do they do with pedophiles in prison?

Considering the problem of the spread of pedophilia, the relevant question is what is done with pedophiles in prison. A fairly small number of pedophiles survive to enter the colony unbeaten and undegraded - transferred to the lowest caste in the colony.

Most pedophile criminals are transferred to a pre-trial detention center, and sometimes to a temporary detention center. But this rarely happens.

Despite popular belief, such criminals are almost never raped. But even with the current system of tracking and denunciation, it is quite difficult to keep track of prisoners.

It’s not easy for them even without violence, because they have to do all the dirty work. Pedophiles live and eat separately from decent convicts. They say that such criminals are not released from the colony on parole.

Teen sex and romance with teacher

Of the 2,260 people convicted in 2015 under the article “Sexual intercourse with a minor,” 1,981 people were charged under its first part—that is, the basis of the charge was heterosexual contact (or contacts) with one partner aged 14 or 15 years.

A 22-year-old resident of Kamchatka and a 15-year-old schoolgirl met on VKontakte and had sex on the bank of a stream; a criminal case has been opened. A 16-year-old resident of the city of Kamyshina in the Volgograd region left home for her 28-year-old lover. The girl’s parents wrote a statement against him to the police, since the couple began dating and having sex when their daughter was 15. Even the 19-year-old boyfriend of a high school student from Nakhodka, who in March of this year first beat and then then he stabbed his 15-year-old girlfriend right in the school principal’s office, after which he committed [Roskomnadzor].

Another case, based on a romance between an adult and a 15-year-old teenager, is being investigated in the Volgograd region. A primary school teacher from the city of Volzhsky and a high school student from the same school began communicating last winter: the teenager asked the young teacher about her tattoos and accompanied her home. In February, their relationship ceased to be platonic; throughout March, the schoolboy and the 28-year-old teacher had sex, and also actively corresponded on social networks and took photographs together. These photographs and correspondence on her son’s phone were discovered by the teenager’s mother. She caused a scandal, got the teacher fired from the school and wrote a statement against her to the investigative authorities. The woman was charged under Part 1 of Article 134 of the Criminal Code and Part 1 of Article 135 of the Criminal Code (indecent acts committed against a person under 16 years of age), the accused fully admits her guilt.

“In fact, as most researchers note, both in our country and abroad, adult-child (teenager) sexual intercourse when the adult is a woman is more common than when the adult is a man,” says Zharov. “But for obvious reasons, the “child” of female criminals, as a rule, will be older, closer to the upper age limit. For many reasons, this type of crime does not become known - for example, physiology: it is unrealistic to prove that the boy has already had sexual intercourse. And - this is a key factor - such crimes are more accepted by society, even almost not tolerated by it: a teenage boy who “slept with his teacher” is a hero, and not a “victim”, and is not perceived as such by anyone! Although the consequences of such sexual intercourse for the future life of boys are almost more significant than for girls.”

This state of affairs influences both court decisions and the registration of such cases as crimes, the lawyer sums up: “Women are extremely rarely convicted under this article, and there are very few of them among those brought to justice.”

Arbitrage practice

Problems in applying Art. 134 and art. 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in 2022 lie largely in the plane of the correct classification of the crime.

Sexual integrity also appears as an object of crime in rape. Therefore, law enforcement agencies must accurately determine whether the victim was forced to take such actions, or whether he voluntarily agreed to them.

As a rule, there are no clear witnesses to what happened in such cases . Therefore, only the testimony of the victim is taken into account in the basis for qualifying the fact of pressure.

Situations often occur when a defendant is imprisoned for sexual intercourse, and after serving his sentence, he marries the victim, and they have a family. This is a family tragedy. The legislator, unfortunately, has provided for the possibility of marriage only for persons over 16 years of age.

A large series of legal clarifications on these crimes contains the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court under Art. 134, art. 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation No. 16.

It contains a ban on the use of conditional punishment in relation to persons who have committed sexual intercourse with a teenager under 14 years of age, as well as the specifics of the application of parole for such criminals.

The courts and law enforcement agencies must necessarily establish the fact of the sanity of such a defendant and whether he has a tendency towards pedophilia.

If certain inclinations are established, medical measures should also be applied to the criminal.

A criminal offense is not always of a violent nature. Today, due to the expansion of personal freedom of adolescents, the availability of the Internet and the development of tolerance towards sexual minorities, many children begin to grow up early.

Unfortunately, not many of them know that even for voluntary sexual acts their partners can be severely punished in accordance with criminal law.

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, unlike public life and world trends, did not expand the boundaries of teenage permissiveness.

How to recognize a pedophile

A pedophile can be a person respected in society, a husband and father. Most often, such people have an unattractive appearance. They are not tall, wear glasses and inconspicuous clothes.

Such a disease does not depend on age and social status, it depends on the internal complexes of a man or woman and their internal psychological trauma.

To recognize and protect children from a criminal, it is necessary to understand how pedophiles behave. It is not always easy to distinguish love for children in the positive sense of the word from perverted sexual attraction to a child.

Consciously or subconsciously, pedophiles choose those professions that are closely related to children:

1. Teachers at school or university.
2. Kindergarten workers.
3. Boarding school workers, sports coaches and the like.

Criminals often spend time on playgrounds and watch the objects of their admiration. The patient experiences obsessive thoughts, mental anguish, and a state of distress.

When diagnosing, most doctors point to congenital abnormalities in the patient’s psyche.

According to the basic theory, the disease may develop as a result of violence or depraved acts experienced during childhood.

Causes can range from alcoholism to brain injury.

Main symptoms:

• prolonged depression;
• infantile behavior;
• children's behavior.

Based on long-term research, a psychological portrait of a pedophile was created:

1. Age: over 16 years old.
2. The object of desire is at least 5-7 years shorter.
3. Preferred communication with children 13-14 years old.
4. A pedophile may be a good friend of the family, have a wonderful relationship with the parents and be characterized from the outside in a positive way.
5. A pedophile can be either married or divorced.

The offender can pretend to be overprotective and caring for the child. Strange bodily contacts are possible. A pedophile can spoil a child, allow him a lot, and exhibit infantilism.

The patient shows almost no interest in the opposite sex, but quite quickly finds contact with children, allowing them what parents prohibit, for example, eating sweets in large quantities, drinking alcohol, smoking.

It is important to take into account that a pedophile can be anything and not have characteristic features of character and appearance. In most cases, a pedophile does not commit severe violence against a child.

He leads a certain manner of behavior in which everything comes down to sexual contact. Despite this, the victim receives severe psychological stress.