The “Age of Consent” in Nevada – A Guide to What It Means

Nevada’s legal age of consent is 16, as children under 16 are presumed incapable of consenting to sex. Therefore, having sex with a minor under 16 is statutory rape even if they participate willingly.

That said, Nevada does have a Romeo and Juliet exception that allows 14- or 15-year-olds to have consensual sex with partners who are less than four years older than them.

In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss what you need to know about Nevada’s age of consent laws:

• 1. Overview
• 2. Romeo and Juliet Law
• 3. Statutory Sexual Seduction (Rape)
• 4. Lewdness with a Minor under 16
• 5. Sex Between Students and Teachers
• 6. Defenses
• 7. Minimum Marrying Age
• 8. Raising the Age of Consent
• 9. Civil Liability and Lawsuits
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Additional Resources

1. Overview

Sixteen (16) is the legal age of consent in Nevada. Children under 16 cannot consent to sex, even if they:

• are mature for their age,
• initiate the sex,
• reasonably appear to be at least 16, or
• lie about being at least 16.¹

The purpose behind age of consent laws is to protect minors from jumping into sexual relationships before they are old enough to appreciate the emotional and physical risks involved such as pregnancy and STIs.

2. Romeo and Juliet Law

The age of consent in Nevada is 16 years old. However, Nevada has a close-in-age exception that permits children ages 14 and 15 to consent to sex with people less than four years older. Therefore:

• 14-year-olds can consent to sex with someone no older than 17, and
• 15-year-olds can consent to sex with someone no older than 18.

Passed in 2015, Nevada’s Romeo and Juliet law recognizes that it is natural for close-in-age teenagers to explore with each other sexually.²

3. Statutory Sexual Seduction

The Nevada crime of statutory sexual seduction (statutory rape) occurs when you:

1. are at least 18 years old,
2. have consensual penetrative sex with a child aged 14 or 15, and
3. are at least four years older than the child.

The penalties depend on your age and criminal history, as the following table shows:

Defendant’s Age	Nevada Sentence for Statutory Rape
21 or older	Category B felony:  1 to 10 years in Nevada State Prison, up to $10,000, and Tier III sex offender registration
Under 21, and you have no prior sex crime convictions	Gross misdemeanor:  Up to 364 days in jail and/or up to $2,000, and Tier I sex offender registration
Under 21, and you have a prior sex crime conviction	Category D felony:  1 to 4 years in prison, up to $5,000, and Tier III sex offender registration

Note that sexual relations with a minor under 14 years old is always prosecuted as rape (if there is penetration) or lewdness (if there is no penetration).³

4. Lewdness With a Minor Under 16

Non-consensual sexual conduct with a minor under 16 years old is prosecuted as lewdness with a minor if there was no penetration (such as groping).⁴ The penalties depend on the victim’s age, as the following table shows:

Lewdness With a Minor	Nevada Penalties
The victim is under 14	Category A felony:  Life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years, up to $10,000, and  Tier III sex offender status.
The victim is 15 or 16	Category B felony:  1 to 10 years in prison, up to $10,000, and Tier II sex offender status.

If you have a prior lewdness conviction, there is no possibility of parole if the victim was under 14.⁵

5. Sex Between Students and Teachers

Consensual sex between students and teachers is prosecuted as statutory rape in Nevada whenever the student is 14 or 15.

If the student is at least 16 and therefore old enough to consent, the teacher faces a category C felony for exploiting their power imbalance. The penalties are:

• 1 to 5 years in prison, and
• Up to $10,000, and
• Tier II sex offender status.⁶

Beyond criminal charges and the loss of a teaching license, teachers, coaches, and school employees face a high risk of civil litigation. Families of the minor often seek legal recourse through civil courts to recover damages for the abuse of authority.

In these scenarios, the lawsuit may extend beyond the individual defendant; the school district or organization may also be sued for “negligent hiring” or “negligent supervision” if they failed to protect the student from the employee’s misconduct.

6. Defenses

Here at Las Vegas Defense Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with sex crimes involving alleged victims under the age of consent. From our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with judges, juries, and prosecutors at getting these cases reduced or dismissed.

1. You are the victim of false accusations.  Children sometimes lie about being victims. Their motivation is often driven by anger, jealousy, revenge, or a desire to alter the outcome of a child custody hearing. However, we can often find evidence such as text messages, eyewitnesses, or video surveillance that clearly impeaches the accuser’s credibility and may persuade the D.A. to drop the charge.⁷
2. The “victim” was at least 16.  Sometimes police make a mistake as to the alleged victim’s age, or sometimes the victim lies about being under 16 to get you into trouble. In these cases, we use public records to show the court that the alleged victim was at least the age of consent.
3. No sexual conduct occurred.  Your accuser could have misconstrued any innocent or accidental touching as sexual. Meanwhile, there is rarely any video or eyewitness evidence of alleged sexual encounters for prosecutors to show the court. Therefore, it is often difficult for the D.A. to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that anything illegal happened.

7. Minimum Marrying Age

Nevada’s age of consent to get married is 18. However, 17-year-olds may marry if:

• The minor has the consent of either parent or the minor’s legal guardian, and
• The minor obtains authorization from a district court after the court holds an evidentiary hearing and makes certain findings.⁸

8. Raising the Consenting Age

Like Nevada, the majority of U.S. state laws recognize 16 as the age when children can consent to have sex. There is no initiative to raise the consenting age in Nevada at this time.⁹

9. Civil Liability and Lawsuits

In addition to the criminal penalties outlined above, you may also face civil liability for violating Nevada’s age of consent laws. The victim or the victim’s parents/guardians have the right to file a civil lawsuit against you for damages.

While a criminal case focuses on punishment (prison and fines), a civil case focuses on financial compensation. You could be ordered to pay significant monetary damages for:

• Medical expenses (including therapy and counseling),
• Pain and suffering, and
• Emotional distress.

Note that a criminal conviction can often be used as evidence to establish liability in a civil case. However, a victim can win a civil lawsuit even if you are acquitted in criminal court, as the “burden of proof” is lower in civil cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the age when you can decide to have sex in Nevada?

Sixteen years old is the age of consent in Nevada. Once you reach 16, you may consent to have sex with another person. There is no age ceiling for your partner, though they cannot be younger than 14.

Under the Romeo and Juliet law, 15- and 14-year-olds may consent to sex only with partners less than four years older than them.

Example: A 14-year-old and a 17-year-old is generally legal (3-year gap).

Example: A 15-year-old and a 19-year-old is illegal (4-year gap).

Is it a defense if the minor lied about their age?

No. In Nevada, statutory sexual seduction is a “strict liability” crime. This means your honest belief that the partner was 16 or older is not a valid defense, even if they showed you a fake ID or explicitly told you they were an adult. The court focuses only on the actual age of the participants.

Can a teacher or coach be sued for a relationship with a student?

Yes. Beyond criminal charges and losing their professional license, authority figures face significant civil liability. The student or their family can sue the teacher (and potentially the school district) for damages related to emotional distress, psychological trauma, and therapy costs.

If we get married, does it erase the statutory rape charge?

Generally, no. If the sexual acts occurred before the marriage while one party was under the legal age of consent, a subsequent marriage does not automatically dismiss criminal charges.

Additionally, Nevada requires a person to be at least 17 to marry (with court/parental consent), so marriage is often not a legal option for those under that age.

Is “sexting” considered a crime for minors in Nevada?

Yes, but the penalties vary.

If minors share explicit images with other minors who are close in age (less than four years difference), it is often treated as a “status offense” (child in need of supervision) in juvenile court rather than a sex crime.

However, if an adult requests or receives explicit images from a minor, they can face severe felony charges for child pornography or luring.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information on the age of consent, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Romeo and Juliet Were Sex Offenders: An Analysis of the Age of Consent and a Call for Reform – University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review.
• The Age of Consent – Yale Law Journal.
• You Can Touch, But You Can’t Look: Examining the Inconsistencies in Our Age of Consent and Child Pornography Laws – Southern California Law Review.
• A Bee Line in the Wrong Direction: Science, Teenagers, and the Sting to the Age of Consent – Journal of Law and Politics.
• Age of Consent – Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality.

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Legal References