Having sex with a person who is under the age of consent is a crime called statutory rape.  It is statutory rape even if the person seemed willing to have sex with you.  The law is very specific about what ages are illegal.  This crime is also called sexual abuse of a minor.

In Alaska, the law says “consent” means a person clearly agrees to a sexual act, either by saying yes or by doing something that shows they agree. Just staying quiet or not fighting back does not count as saying yes. The person also has the right to change their mind at any time, even in the middle of something — if they say stop, it has to stop. Saying yes to one thing (like kissing) doesn’t mean saying yes to something else. This is a newer rule that started in 2023. Before that, the old law said the government had to prove they were forced or threatened, which was a lot harder to show.

The law also says some people cannot give consent at all. For example, if someone is asleep, drunk to the point of not understanding what’s happening, or unable to speak up, they can’t legally agree — even if they don’t fight back. Courts have said a sleeping person is not able to give consent. On top of that, the person doing the act has to know, or should have realized, that the other person wasn’t saying yes. They can’t just claim “I didn’t know” if a reasonable person would have known better.

“Age of consent” means the minimum age a person must be before the law considers that person old enough to agree to have sex.  In part, this depends on the age of the other person.  Having sex with someone under the age of consent is a very serious crime.  If you are sexually active, be very sure about the age of the other person before having sex.

Generally, two people who are both 18 or older can agree to have sex with each other.  When a person involved in sex is under the age of 18, Alaska law looks at the difference in ages to decide whether that person is legally able to agree to sex.

• Teens who are younger than 12 can never consent.
• Teens who are 13, 14 and 15 years old can legally consent to sex with someone less than four years older than themselves.
• Teens who are 16 and 17 years old can legally consent to sex with someone less than six years older than themselves. 

The law also makes it a crime for a person in a position of authority over a younger person (such as a teacher, coach, or minister) to have sex with the younger person.

Generally, it is still against the law to have sex with a person who is too young, even if you are dating or if the person lied about his or her age.  You may not be guilty of illegal sexual activity if you can show that you tried to find out the person’s age and really believed he or she was old enough to agree.  But it’s hard to prove those things.  It is better to avoid illegal sexual relationships than to try and get out of being charged with illegal sexual conduct.

No, both males and females have to be old enough to have sex.  Punishment is the same for males and females if they are found guilty of illegal sexual conduct.  It does not matter if the person accused of illegal sexual conduct is male or female or the victim is male or female.

Punishment for having sex with someone who is too young under the law is very serious. Depending on the situation, the punishment could be as much as 99 years in jail. Also, a person convicted of any sexual crime may have to register with the police as a sex offender.