In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the

legality of incest Laws regarding incest (i.e. sexual activity between family members or close relatives) vary considerably between jurisdictions, and depend on the type of sexual activity and the nature of the family relationship of the parties involved, as well ...

varies widely between jurisdictions regarding both the definition of the offense and penalties for its commission.

Overview

In all but two states (and the special case of Ohio, which "targets only parental figures"), 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 are also incestuous, and criminalizes incest with 16-17 year olds (the normal

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...

in New Jersey is 16). Ohio allows incest between consenting adults only when one party is not a parental figure (see table below) to the other. , 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.

Table

The table below summarizes these laws for individual

U.S. State In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

s and the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Notes

: According to a

California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

case, being under the age of 18 in a consensual incestual relationship with an adult causes the ''minor'' to be a victim of the crime of incest, ''not'' an accomplice to the crime itself. See
People v. Tobias
' (2001) 25 Cal.4th 327 However, this does not include a minor 14 years of age or older as the law was amended by the Legislature to partially overturn the ruling. Se
Stats. 2005, Ch. 477, Sec. 1. (SB 33)

References

External links

* * Hughes, Graham
"The Crime of Incest"
(PDF). ''

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology The ''Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology'' ("JCLC") is a peer-reviewed, student-run academic journal published by the Northwestern University School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern ...

'', Fall 1964. Volume 55, Issue 3 (September), Article 2, p. 322-331.
State Criminal Incest Statutes
, March 2013. National District Attorneys Association. {{incest Incest Family law Sex laws Family law in the United States