South Carolina Age of Consent: Exceptions, Degrees & Penalties

The age of consent in South Carolina is 16. Anyone younger cannot legally consent to sexual activity, and sex with a person under 16 is a felony called Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor under S.C. Code Section 16-3-655.¹ Penalties run from 15 years in prison at the low end to a mandatory minimum of 25 years to life at the high end, and almost every conviction brings sex offender registration that can last decades.

The Close-in-Age Exception

South Carolina’s close-in-age rule is narrower than people often assume. It is not a “years apart” gap calculation. It is an age ceiling: a person cannot be convicted of second-degree or third-degree Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor if the defendant was 18 or younger at the time and the other person was at least 14.¹ Both conditions must be true.

So an 18-year-old and a 14-year-old in a consensual relationship fall inside the exception. A 19-year-old and a 15-year-old do not, even though the gap is the same. The moment the older person turns 19, the protection disappears. The exception also does not apply at all to first-degree charges, so it offers no shield when the victim is under 11.

When a Position of Authority Removes the Exception

If the defendant held a position of familial, custodial, or official authority over the minor, the close-in-age exception does not apply. Section 16-3-655(B)(2) specifically targets people who use that role to coerce submission from a 14- or 15-year-old, and the charge is second-degree.¹ The category covers parents, stepparents, guardians, teachers, coaches, and anyone else with formal or informal supervisory power over the minor’s welfare or education. A 17-year-old student and a 22-year-old teacher may look close in age on paper, but the teacher’s role is treated as an aggravating factor.

Mistake of Age Is Not a Defense

South Carolina does not recognize a mistake-of-age defense. If the victim is under 16, it does not matter that the defendant genuinely believed the victim was older, that the victim lied, or that the victim showed a fake ID. The South Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld that reading, reasoning that the legislature wrote in a close-in-age exception and deliberately left out any mistake-of-age provision.¹ The prosecution only has to prove the victim was underage, not that the defendant knew it.

The Three Degrees and Their Penalties

Which degree applies depends on the victim’s age, the nature of the contact, and the defendant’s background. Each degree is a felony, and each carries its own sentencing range.

First Degree

First-degree Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor covers sexual battery with a child under 11. It also applies when the victim is under 16 and the defendant has a prior conviction or adjudication for an offense listed on the sex offender registry.²

When the victim is under 11, the sentence is a mandatory minimum of 25 years with no possibility of suspension or probation, up to life in prison. A repeat offender with a prior first-degree conviction involving a child under 11 faces life imprisonment or the death penalty. When the first-degree charge rests on the defendant’s prior sex-offense record and a victim under 16, the sentence is between 10 and 30 years with no part suspended and no probation.²

Second Degree

Second-degree charges apply to sexual battery with a victim who is at least 11 but not yet 15. They also apply when the victim is at least 14 but under 16 and the defendant holds a position of authority over the victim or is simply older. That second prong is broad: any adult who has sexual contact with a 14- or 15-year-old can face second-degree charges because the adult is, by definition, older.¹ The sentence is up to 20 years in prison.

Third Degree

Third-degree charges target anyone over 14 who commits a sexual act on a child under 16 with the intent to gratify sexual desire. Penetration is not required, so the degree captures a wider range of sexual contact.¹ The sentence is up to 15 years, a fine at the court’s discretion, or both.

Sex Offender Registration

A conviction triggers mandatory registration on the South Carolina Sex Offender Registry, administered by the State Law Enforcement Division. Registration is the offender’s own legal duty, and it means contacting the sheriff in every county where the person lives, works, or attends school.³ Registered offenders must provide their name, date of birth, home address, employer, vehicle details, internet account identifiers, and a photograph, and must report any change in address, employment, or school enrollment to the sheriff within three business days.

South Carolina uses a three-tier system that controls how long registration lasts. Tier I offenders may petition SLED for removal after at least 15 years of registration, or 15 years after completing their sentence and supervision. Tier II offenders may petition after at least 25 years. Tier III offenders cannot petition SLED at all; they may file a motion with the general sessions court after 30 years from discharge or termination of supervision.³ Removal is never automatic. Most registered offenders must verify their information twice a year, in their birth month and six months later; sexually violent predators and Tier III offenders under the federal Adam Walsh Act verify every 90 days. The registry is publicly searchable.

Where Convicted Offenders Can Live

Section 23-3-535 bars anyone convicted of first- or second-degree Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor from living within 1,000 feet of a school, daycare center, park, public playground, or children’s recreational facility. The distance is measured in a straight line from the offender’s property to the nearest property line of the restricted location.⁴

If law enforcement finds a violation, the offender gets written notice and 30 days to relocate. Penalties for failing to move escalate: up to 30 days in jail for a first violation, up to three years for a second, and up to five years as a felony for a third or later offense.⁴ In a moderately populated area, those buffers can rule out most of the available housing.

Marriage Under 16

Marriage law tracks consent law here. South Carolina prohibits marriage for anyone under 16, and any such marriage is void from the start. A 16- or 17-year-old may marry only with a sworn affidavit of consent from a parent, guardian, or other relative with whom the minor lives.⁵ Under 16, a person can neither marry nor consent to sexual activity in South Carolina, and marriage is not a workaround.

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 16-3-655 – Criminal Sexual Conduct With a Minor
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 16 Chapter 3
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 23 Chapter 3
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 23-3-535 – Limitation on Places of Residence
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 20 Chapter 1 – Marriage Licenses