Romeo and Juliet Law New Jersey

New Jersey has no statute called a “Romeo and Juliet law.” The phrase is a popular label used to describe close-in-age rules discussed in other states, and it does not correspond to any provision of the New Jersey criminal code. What N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-2 does contain is a set of age-gap elements, and elements are not the same thing as defenses.

The clearest example is subsection b., which applies to sexual contact where the victim is under 13 and the actor is at least four years older. That age difference is part of the offense as the statute defines it, so the State has to establish it. If the difference the statute describes is not present, the offense as written is not made out, which is a different proposition from a provision that legalises the conduct. This page explains that distinction. Anyone facing an actual charge in New Jersey can call Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. at (888) 437-7747.

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Why the Phrase Does Not Match the New Jersey Code

A Romeo and Juliet law, as the phrase is used in general discussion, describes a rule that removes criminal liability where the people involved are close in age. New Jersey’s code does not contain a provision under that name, and the statutes that govern age-based conduct here are written as offense definitions rather than as exemptions.

The difference is structural. An element is something the State includes in its charge and has to establish for the offense to exist as charged. An exemption or defense is something the code makes available to a person who would otherwise be liable. N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-2 uses the first form. Its age references sit inside the definitions of the offenses themselves. It defines what is prohibited rather than what excuses it.

That has practical consequences for how a matter is discussed. A person cannot invoke an age difference the way a defense is invoked, because the difference is not a shield attached to the accused; it is part of the description of the prohibited conduct. Where the facts do not match the definition, the charge as framed does not describe the offense. Where they do match, the definition is satisfied, and no close-in-age exception appears in the provisions summarised on this page.

Where Age Differences Appear in N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2

Subsection b. of § 2C:14-2 is the clearest place to see an age difference operating as an element. It addresses sexual contact where the victim is under 13 and the actor is at least four years older. Both requirements have to be present for the subsection to describe the conduct.

Subsection c. also refers to age-gap relationships. It reaches sexual penetration by coercion or without affirmative and freely-given permission, and penetration where the parties stand in custodial, familial, age-gap or pupil-teacher relationships. Sexual assault is a crime of the second degree.

Subsection a. contains age references of a different kind. It makes penetration aggravated sexual assault where the victim is under 13, and where the victim is 13 to 15 and the actor stands in a specified relationship of authority. Aggravated sexual assault is a crime of the first degree, and subsection a.(1) carries a term of 25 years to life with 25 years of parole ineligibility.

Read together, these provisions show ages and age differences doing definitional work throughout the statute. None of them is framed as relief from a charge that has otherwise been made out. Each of them describes prohibited conduct, and none of them creates an exception to a charge.

What Else Attaches to an Age-Based Charge

Other statutes commonly appear with a Chapter 14 count, and no close-in-age provision appears in them either.

N.J.S.A. § 2C:24-4 covers endangering the welfare of a child. Subsection a. reaches sexual conduct that would impair or debauch the morals of a child. It is a crime of the second degree for a person with a legal duty for the child or who has assumed responsibility for the child, and a crime of the third degree for any other person. N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-3 supplies the contact offenses, aggravated criminal sexual contact as a crime of the third degree and criminal sexual contact as a crime of the fourth degree, and it incorporates § 2C:14-2 by cross-reference. N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-4 defines lewdness, a disorderly persons offense under subsection a. and a crime of the fourth degree under subsection b.

Registration follows from N.J.S.A. § 2C:7-2, whose registrable offenses include aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual contact.

The consent language changed in 2019. P.L.2019, c.108 and c.474 replaced the former physical force or coercion formulation in several paragraphs of § 2C:14-2 with coercion or without the victim’s affirmative and freely-given permission, and conduct alleged to have occurred before 2019 is governed by the earlier text.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does New Jersey have a Romeo and Juliet law?

No. There is no New Jersey statute by that name, and the term does not appear in the provisions discussed here. The statutes that govern age-based conduct are N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-2, N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-3, and N.J.S.A. § 2C:24-4, with definitions at N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-1. If you have read that New Jersey has a close-in-age law, check the citation, because the label does not attach to anything in the code.

What is an age-gap element?

It is a requirement about the difference in age between the parties that the statute builds into the definition of the offense. Subsection b. of § 2C:14-2 is the example: sexual contact with a victim under 13 by an actor at least four years older. It is part of what the prosecution asserts, not something the person charged brings forward.

Is the age difference in subsection b. a defense?

No. It is an element of the offense described in that subsection. Treating it as a defense reverses how the provision works. The State must prove every element of the offense it has charged, and where a subsection includes an age difference, that difference is among the elements. Describing it as a defense, an exemption, or a safe harbour misstates the statute.

What happens if the age difference in the statute is not present?

Then the offense as written in that subsection is not made out on those facts. That is a statement about the definition of one offense, not a statement that the conduct is lawful. Other subsections of § 2C:14-2, the contact offenses in § 2C:14-3, and N.J.S.A. § 2C:24-4 have their own elements and are analyzed separately against the same facts.

Do the age references in subsection a. work the same way?

They are also elements rather than defenses, though they are framed differently. Subsection a. reaches penetration where the victim is under 13, and where the victim is 13 to 15 and the actor stands in a specified relationship of authority. In the second situation the relationship is part of the element alongside the age band. Where subsection a. applies, the offense is aggravated sexual assault, a crime of the first degree.

Does closeness in age affect a charge under N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4?

The endangering statute is graded by relationship rather than by age difference. Subsection a. covers sexual conduct that would impair or debauch the morals of a child, and it is a crime of the second degree for a person with a legal duty for the child or who has assumed responsibility for the child, and a crime of the third degree for any other person.

Did the 2019 amendments change the age provisions?

The change described in P.L.2019, c.108 and c.474 was to the consent formulation: the former physical force or coercion language in several paragraphs of § 2C:14-2 became coercion or without the victim’s affirmative and freely-given permission. Conduct alleged to have occurred before 2019 is governed by the earlier text, and § 2C:14-3 carries the amendment into the contact offenses by cross-reference.

Where should a person start when the parties are close in age?

Start with the charging document. Identify the statute and subsection cited, then read that subsection against N.J.S.A. § 2C:14-1 to see which defined terms are in play and whether an age difference is among the elements. Also check whether a count under N.J.S.A. § 2C:24-4 has been added, and whether N.J.S.A. § 2C:7-2 registration attaches to any charged count.

Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. was founded in 1997 and concentrates in criminal defense. Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., is a former prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys read New Jersey charging documents against the statutes cited on this page and explain what each count requires the State to establish. Where an allegation involves people close in age, that analysis proceeds through the elements of the subsection charged rather than through a label the code does not use. Request a consultation. The firm maintains 24/7 phone intake at (888) 437-7747.

This page provides general information and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

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