The Age of Consent
ORC 2907.04 — sixteen, and the age gaps that set the degree
No person eighteen or older may engage in sexual conduct with another person who is thirteen or older but under sixteen, when the older person knows the other's age or is reckless about it. That makes sixteen the line this section draws.
Who handles this in Ohio: Ohio State Bar Association lawyer referral; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
| The older person is | The degree |
|---|---|
| The older person isLess than four years older | The degreeMisdemeanor of the first degree |
| The older person isFour or more but less than ten years older | The degreeFelony of the fourth degree |
| The older person isTen or more years older | The degreeFelony of the third degree |
| The older person isAny age gap, with a prior conviction for this offense, rape or sexual battery | The degreeFelony of the second degree |
Reckless about the age is enough. The section is broken by an older person who knows the other's age, and equally by one who is reckless about it. Believing someone was older does not help a person who ignored what pointed the other way.
What the section does and does not reach. Its offender is a person eighteen or older, and the other person is thirteen, fourteen or fifteen. A younger child is outside it, and the section itself names other sections, rape and sexual battery among them, as separate offenses. Whether anything else applies between two people who are both under eighteen is a question this page does not answer.
Pictures are a separate felony. No person may photograph a minor who is not their own child or ward in a state of nudity, or create or send such material, or possess or view it, outside narrow exceptions that require a proper purpose, such as a medical or judicial one. Creating or sending it is a felony of the second degree, and possessing or viewing it is a felony of the fifth degree. Nothing in the section exempts a minor who takes or sends the picture.
Registration, protection orders and the other consequences of a conviction are in other sections not covered here. A charge, or the worry of one, is a question for a licensed Ohio attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- ORC 2907.04 — Unlawful sexual conduct with a minor
- ORC 2907.323 — Illegal use of a minor in nudity oriented material or performance
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.