How South Carolina’s Romeo and Juliet Law Works

South Carolina’s Romeo and Juliet law, found in SC Code § 16-3-655, blocks a conviction for certain criminal sexual conduct charges when the older person was 18 or younger, the younger person was at least 14, and the sexual conduct was consensual. It is not a reduced charge or a lighter sentence. When the conditions are met, the statute says the person “may not be convicted” of the covered offense at all.¹

The Two Age Thresholds

The statute sets two independent age lines. The older person must be eighteen or younger at the time of the conduct. The younger person must be at least fourteen. Both must be true.¹

A lot of information circulating online describes South Carolina’s rule as a “48-month age gap.” That is wrong. The statute does not measure the distance between two birth dates. It checks each person’s age against a fixed number. An 18-year-old and a 14-year-old can be almost five years apart and still fall inside the exception, because each of them individually meets the threshold that applies to them.

Cross either line and the protection disappears. A 19-year-old with a 15-year-old does not qualify, even though the age difference is small. An 18-year-old with a 13-year-old does not qualify either. Prosecutors check these two numbers first, and the analysis is mechanical.

Consent Is Required

Meeting the ages is not enough. The statute requires that the conduct be consensual. Any evidence of force, threats, coercion, or intimidation removes the exception, and the case proceeds as an ordinary felony prosecution.

The second-degree provision also reaches situations where the older person holds “a position of familial, custodial, or official authority” over the younger person, such as a coach, teacher, foster parent, or youth group leader.² The relationship itself matters, because genuine consent is harder to establish when one person has that kind of power over the other. Courts weigh the full circumstances: police reports, witness accounts, electronic messages, and statements from both people.

Which Charges the Exception Covers

The Romeo and Juliet language sits inside § 16-3-655 and covers two specific charges under that statute.

Criminal sexual conduct with a minor, second degree, under subsection (B)(2). This covers sexual battery with a victim at least 14 but under 16 where the older person holds authority or is older than the victim. The exception language appears directly in this subsection.²
Criminal sexual conduct with a minor, third degree, under subsection (C). This covers lewd or lascivious acts committed by someone over 14 upon a child under 16.¹

First-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, under subsection (A), is not covered. Subsection (A) applies when the victim is under 11, or between 11 and 14 under certain aggravating circumstances. No close-in-age defense exists for those charges.¹

What “May Not Be Convicted” Means

The exception is a complete bar to conviction, not a reduction. If it applies, there is no felony, no misdemeanor, and no conviction for the covered charge.¹

The consequences that follow a conviction fall away with it. South Carolina requires sex offender registration under SC Code § 23-3-430 for people convicted of qualifying offenses.³ No conviction means the registration obligation is not triggered.

Being charged and having the exception apply are not the same thing. Someone can still be arrested, booked, and pulled into criminal proceedings before the defense resolves the case. The statute prevents conviction. It does not prevent an investigation or prosecution from starting.

What’s at Stake Without the Exception

Every degree of criminal sexual conduct with a minor is a felony in South Carolina, and the penalties are heavy when the exception does not apply.¹

First degree, subsection (A)(1), victim under 11: mandatory minimum of 25 years, no suspension or probation, up to life. A second offense can carry the death penalty or life in prison.
First degree, subsection (A)(2), victim 11 to 14 with aggravating circumstances: between 10 and 30 years, no suspension or probation.
Second degree, subsection (B): up to 20 years in prison.
Third degree, subsection (C): up to 15 years, a fine, or both.

South Carolina prohibits probation and suspended sentences for first-degree convictions outright, and a conviction also puts someone on the sex offender registry with a minimum wait of 15 years before the earliest tier can even petition for removal.⁴

Where the Protection Ends

The exception is written narrowly, and several situations sit outside it.

Federal land. Conduct on a military base, national park, or other federal property in South Carolina is prosecuted under federal law, not state law. The applicable statute is 18 U.S.C. § 2243, which reaches sexual acts with someone at least 12 but under 16 who is at least four years younger than the defendant.⁵ Federal law has no close-in-age exception. The only affirmative defense is a reasonable belief that the other person was at least 16, and the government does not have to prove the defendant knew the victim’s age or that the four-year gap existed.

Solicitation of a minor. Criminal solicitation of a minor under SC Code § 16-15-342 is a separate offense and has its own consent rule. It applies when someone 18 or older contacts a person under 18 with intent to persuade them into sexual activity. Consent is a defense only if the younger person is at least 16.⁶

Other minor-related offenses. Child pornography, sexual exploitation of a minor, and similar charges each have their own elements and penalties. None of them carry a parallel close-in-age exception. The protection in § 16-3-655 is written for two specific charges involving physical conduct between peers, and assuming it stretches further is a mistake with serious consequences.

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 16-3-655 – Criminal Sexual Conduct With a Minor; Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances; Penalties; Repeat Offenders
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws – Title 16 Chapter 3 – Offenses Against the Person
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws – Title 23 Chapter 3 – Law Enforcement and Public Safety
4
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. State Sex Offender Registry
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2243 – Sexual Abuse of a Minor, a Ward, or an Individual in Federal Custody
6
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws – Title 16 Chapter 15