Age of Consent in Wyoming: Charges, Penalties, and Registration

The age of consent in Wyoming is 17. Sexual activity with someone younger than 17 becomes a crime when the older person is at least four years older than the minor, and the rules are stricter still for teachers, coaches, guardians, and other adults in a position of authority, who face charges for sexual contact with anyone under 18.¹²

The Four-Year Age Gap

Wyoming does not have a standalone “Romeo and Juliet” law. Instead, the four-year gap is written into the offense itself: the conduct simply is not a crime unless the older person is at least four years older than the minor.¹ A narrower three-year gap applies in one specific situation involving offenders under 16 and victims under 13.³

In practice:

A 17-year-old and a 15-year-old fall outside the criminal statutes. The gap is two years.
A 19-year-old and a 15-year-old are also outside, at a four-year edge that has not been crossed.
A 20-year-old and a 15-year-old cross the four-year threshold. The 20-year-old is now potentially liable for second-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

Two important limits. The age gap rule offers no shelter when force or coercion is involved, which shifts the conduct into Wyoming’s separate sexual assault statutes. And it does not help anyone in a position of authority over the minor, where the age rules work differently.

When a Teacher, Coach, or Guardian Is Involved

Wyoming treats sexual activity with a minor much more harshly when the older person holds a position of authority. That category includes teachers, coaches, legal guardians, and other adults whose role gives them influence or control over the young person.⁴

Two things change in these relationships. First, the protected age climbs from 17 to 18: sexual contact by a legal guardian with a ward under 18 is second-degree sexual abuse regardless of the gap.² Sixteen- and 17-year-olds, otherwise at or above the age of consent, are still protected against sexual conduct by authority figures under the third- and fourth-degree statutes.¹

Second, the offense level jumps. An 18-year-old who has penetrative sexual contact with a 15-year-old student they tutor is looking at first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, punishable by up to 50 years. The same conduct between an 18-year-old and a 15-year-old outside any authority relationship is not a crime at all, because the four-year threshold has not been met.

Charges and Prison Time

Wyoming sorts sexual abuse of a minor into four degrees. The degree turns on the victim’s age, the type of sexual conduct, and whether the offender held a position of authority.

First degree applies to penetrative sexual acts with a child under 13 by anyone 16 or older, or to penetrative acts by an authority figure 18 or older with a victim under 16. If the offender is 21 or older and the victim under 13, the sentence carries a 25-year mandatory minimum and a 50-year maximum. Other first-degree cases carry up to 50 years with no mandatory minimum.⁴

Second degree covers penetrative acts with a 13-to-15-year-old by an offender 17 or older who is at least four years older, sexual contact with a child under 13 by anyone 16 or older, and sexual contact by legal guardians and other authority figures with minors in their care. The maximum is 20 years.²

Third degree covers sexual contact (rather than penetration) with a 13-to-15-year-old by someone 17 or older and four years older, penetrative acts with a 16- or 17-year-old by an authority figure 20 or older, and a broader catch-all for indecent conduct with a minor under 17 by anyone 17 or older and four years older. The maximum is 15 years.¹

Fourth degree is narrow. It covers an offender under 16 who has sexual contact with a child under 13 while being at least three years older, and it covers sexual contact by an authority figure 20 or older with a 16- or 17-year-old. The maximum is five years.³

Mistake About the Minor’s Age

Wyoming’s state statutes do not explicitly provide a mistake-of-age defense, so a defendant’s honest belief that the other person was 17 or older is unlikely to prevent conviction in state court. Federal law is different, and that matters in the section below.

Sex Offender Registration

A conviction for any degree of sexual abuse of a minor triggers a duty to register as a sex offender. Registration begins at sentencing and lasts for life by default.⁵

How often a registered person must verify their address with the county sheriff depends on the offense. Third-degree convictions under certain subsections require annual reporting. Fourth-degree sexual abuse and solicitation of a minor require reporting every six months. First- and second-degree convictions require reporting every three months.⁶

Some offenders can eventually petition a district court to end the duty. Those in the annual-reporting tier may petition after 10 years of a clean record, no other sex offense or felony convictions, and completion of supervised release and court-ordered treatment. Those in the twice-yearly tier may petition after 25 years under the same conditions. Offenders convicted of first- or second-degree sexual abuse of a minor have no petition option and register for life.⁵ Failing to comply with registration is itself a separate felony.

Federal Charges That Can Also Apply

State charges are not the only exposure. Federal law reaches sexual activity with a minor on federal land, in federal buildings, on military bases, or in federal custody. That comes up more often in Wyoming than in most states because of the extent of national parks and military installations. Under federal law, a sexual act with someone aged 12 to 15 by an offender at least four years older carries up to 15 years in federal prison.⁷

Federal law also criminalizes using the internet, phone, or mail to persuade or entice anyone under 18 to engage in sexual activity, with a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life. The statute applies even when the person solicited is an undercover officer posing as a minor.⁸

Federal court does allow a reasonable-belief defense: the defendant can try to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that they reasonably believed the other person was 16 or older.⁷ Wyoming state law has no equivalent.

How Long Charges Can Be Brought

For the most serious offenses, Wyoming imposes no time limit on prosecution. First-degree sexual abuse of a minor can be charged no matter how long ago it happened. Less severe degrees may carry limitations periods, though the state has generally moved toward longer windows for sex crimes against children.

On the civil side, a person who was sexually assaulted as a child can sue up to eight years after turning 18, or within three years of discovering the harm, whichever is later.⁹

Who Has to Report Suspected Abuse

Wyoming takes an unusually broad approach to mandatory reporting. It is not limited to teachers, doctors, or social workers. Any person who knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been abused or neglected is required to report it immediately to the child protective agency or local law enforcement.¹⁰ Staff at schools, hospitals, and other institutions must also notify the person in charge, who shares responsibility for making sure a report is filed.

Good-faith reporters are protected from civil or criminal liability even if the report turns out to be unfounded. Knowingly filing a false report is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $750, or both.¹¹

1
Justia. Wyoming Code 6-2-316 – Sexual Abuse of a Minor in the Third Degree
2
Justia. Wyoming Code 6-2-315 – Sexual Abuse of a Minor in the Second Degree, Penalties
3
Justia. Wyoming Code 6-2-317 – Sexual Abuse of a Minor in the Fourth Degree
4
Justia. Wyoming Code 6-2-314 – Sexual Abuse of a Minor in the First Degree, Penalties
5
Justia. Wyoming Code 7-19-304 – Termination of Duty to Register
6
Justia. Wyoming Code 7-19-302 – Registration of Offenders
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2243 – Sexual Abuse of a Minor, a Ward, or an Individual in Federal Custody
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2422 – Coercion and Enticement
9
Justia. Wyoming Code 1-3-105 – Actions Other Than Recovery of Real Property
10
Justia. Wyoming Code 14-3-205 – Child Abuse or Neglect, Persons Required to Report
11
FindLaw. Wyoming Code 14-3-205 – Child Abuse or Neglect, Persons Required to Report