Indecent Behavior with a Juvenile: Louisiana Penalties and Registration

In Louisiana, indecent behavior with a juvenile is a felony defined by Revised Statutes 14:81. It covers three kinds of conduct directed at a child under 17 — lewd or lascivious acts, lewd communications, and grooming — when the offender is enough older than the child to meet the statute’s age gap. A conviction carries up to seven years in prison, a fine up to $5,000, and mandatory sex offender registration. Physical contact is not required.¹

What Counts as Indecent Behavior with a Juvenile

RS 14:81 identifies three separate categories of prohibited conduct, each with its own age-difference requirement, and each requiring that the offender act with the intent to arouse or gratify sexual desires.

Lewd or lascivious acts on or in the presence of a child under 17, where the offender is more than two years older than the child.
Sending any textual, visual, written, or oral communication depicting lewd conduct, text, words, or images to a person the offender reasonably believes is under 17 and at least two years younger than the offender.
Grooming a child under 17 where the offender is at least four years older. The statute states the grooming does not need to be completed or even attempted to completion.

The two-year gap for physical acts and communications functions as Louisiana’s close-in-age carve-out for this offense. Two teenagers within two years of each other in age fall outside the statute. The grooming provision uses a wider four-year gap.¹

Intent Is Required, but Physical Contact Is Not

Prosecutors must prove the defendant acted with the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification. That is the element most contested at trial. But the statute does not require any touching. Exposing oneself to a child, showing a child sexual images, and sending explicit messages all fall within its reach.

Defenses That Do and Don’t Work

The most viable defense goes to intent. Because the state must prove a specific sexual purpose, defense attorneys often argue that the conduct was misinterpreted or lacked any sexual motivation. Accidental exposure, a medical context, or a misread interaction can support that argument. Most contested cases are fought here.

Consent is not a defense. Once the age difference exceeds two years for physical acts or communications, the child’s willingness is legally irrelevant.

Mistake of age is not a defense to the lewd-acts or grooming provisions. The statute forecloses it outright. The communications provision is written around what the offender reasonably believed, which means sting operations still produce convictions: the statute expressly says it is not a defense that the person who actually received the communication was not under 17.¹

Penalties

The general penalty is imprisonment with or without hard labor for up to seven years, a fine up to $5,000, or both. Article 893 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure — the provision that in other cases lets a court set aside a conviction or dismiss the prosecution — is unavailable here. The statute bars that route, closing off one common path to expungement.

Enhanced penalties apply when the victim is under 13 and the offender is 17 or older. Repeat offenders and cases involving force, coercion, multiple victims, or abuse of authority also push sentencing higher within the statutory range.¹

Sex Offender Registration and Life After Conviction

A conviction triggers mandatory registration under Louisiana’s sex offender laws, governed by RS 15:540 and related statutes. Registrants must provide their name, address, and photograph, which become publicly accessible. Certain registrants must renew and update the registration in person every three months from the date they establish a Louisiana residence, and the total registration period depends on the offense — up to lifetime for the most serious convictions.²

The federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act adds a three-tier classification that runs alongside the state requirement:

Tier I: 15 years of registration, with annual in-person verification.
Tier II: 25 years, with verification every six months.
Tier III: lifetime, with verification every three months.

The clock starts on release from prison, or at sentencing if no prison term is imposed.³

Housing, Movement, and the Internet

Registrants subject to a lifetime requirement are barred from federally assisted housing, including public housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs. Local housing authorities enforce that ban and must move to terminate assistance if a lifetime registrant is discovered to have been wrongfully admitted. Registrants whose registration period is shorter than lifetime cannot be denied housing solely on that basis.⁴

Residency buffer zones around schools, parks, playgrounds, and daycare centers commonly run from 500 to 2,500 feet depending on the jurisdiction. Louisiana also prohibits people convicted under RS 14:81 from intentionally using social networking websites.⁵

Passports

Under International Megan’s Law, people convicted of a sex offense against a minor receive a permanent identifier printed inside their U.S. passport book, must self-identify as a covered sex offender when applying, and cannot receive passport cards. Passports issued without the identifier can be revoked.⁶

How It Differs from Molestation of a Juvenile

Indecent behavior is often confused with molestation of a juvenile under RS 14:81.2, which is a distinct and more serious charge. Molestation requires an added element: force, violence, threats, psychological intimidation, or the offender using a position of control or supervision over the child. A teacher or coach accused of lewd acts against a student typically faces the molestation charge because of that authority relationship.

Molestation penalties are steeper. When the victim is between 13 and 16, the range is five to ten years and fines up to $5,000. When the offender held a position of control or supervision, it rises to ten to twenty years and up to $10,000. Article 893 relief is unavailable, and mistake of age is again barred as a defense.⁷

When Federal Charges Come In

Conduct that crosses state lines through electronic communications, or that occurs on federal property, can bring federal charges either alongside or instead of the Louisiana charge. Federal exposure is much greater. Using electronic communications to persuade, induce, or entice someone under 18 to engage in sexual activity carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life under 18 U.S.C. § 2422.⁸ Sexual exploitation charges under 18 U.S.C. § 2251 start at a 15-year mandatory minimum for a first offense, 25 years with one prior conviction, and 35 years to life with two or more. If the conduct results in death, the sentence is death or a minimum of 30 years.⁹

Anyone facing an accusation under RS 14:81 should speak with a Louisiana criminal defense attorney before answering questions from investigators. The statute is drafted to close off common defenses, and the collateral consequences of a conviction — registration, housing bars, passport marking, internet restrictions — often outlast the sentence itself.

1
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14-81 – Indecent Behavior with Juveniles
2
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 15 RS 15-540 – Findings; Purpose
3
Federal Register. Registration Requirements Under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act
4
HUD.gov. State Registered Lifetime Sex Offenders in the Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing Programs FAQ
5
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 14-91.5 – Unlawful Use of a Social Networking Website
6
U.S. Department of State. Passports and International Megan’s Law
7
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 14-81.2 – Molestation of a Juvenile
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2422 – Coercion and Enticement
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2251 – Sexual Exploitation of Children