Laws regarding incest in the United States vary widely between jurisdictions regarding both the definition of the offense and penalties for its commission. The table below summarizes these laws for individual U.S. States and the District of Columbia. In all but two states, incest is criminalized between consenting adults. In New Jersey and Rhode Island, incest between consenting adults (16 or over for Rhode Island, 18 or over for New Jersey) is not a criminal offense, though marriage is not allowed in either state. New Jersey also increases the severity of underage sex offenses by a degree if they're also incestuous, and criminalizes incest with 16-17 year olds (the normal age of consent in New Jersey is 16).
As of 2010 cases of incest involving consenting adults are often not revealed to outside parties, and therefore prosecutions of these cases do not frequently occur. Cases of parent-adult child incest exposed to law enforcement are usually uncovered by another parent.
Video Laws regarding incest in the United States
References
Maps Laws regarding incest in the United States
External links
- Hughes, Graham. "The Crime of Incest." Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Fall 1964. Volume 55, Issue 3 (September), Article 2, p. 322-331.
- "State Criminal Incest Statutes, 2010. American Prosecutors Research Institute, at the National District Attorneys Association.
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