<P> (3) A person twelve years of age or over but under fourteen years of age is not liable under section 18 or 19 if--(a) he is less than two years older than the child against whom he is purported to have perpetrated the offence; (b) he is not in a familial relationship with the child nor in a position of trust in relation to the child; (c) he is not of the same sex as the child; and (d) the circumstances do not reveal any element of exploitation, coercion, threat, deception, grooming or manipulation in the relationship . </P> <P> The United States is a federation of states where the age of consent laws are made at the state, territorial, and federal district levels . There exist several federal statutes related to protecting minors from sexual predators, but none of them imposes an age limit on sexual acts . On 26 June 2003, both heterosexual and homosexual sodomy became legal in all U.S. states, territories, and the federal district under the U.S. Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas (between non-commercial, consenting adults in a private bedroom). In State v. Limon (2005), the Kansas Supreme Court used Lawrence as a precedent to overturn the state's "Romeo and Juliet" law, which proscribed lesser penalties for heterosexuals than homosexuals convicted of similar age of consent related offenses . </P> <P> Each U.S. state (and the District of Columbia) has its own age of consent . Currently state laws set the age of consent at 16, 17, or 18 . The most common age is 16 . </P> <P> Paraphrasing Virgin Islands Code: V.I.C. § 1700 - 1709 Virgin Islands Code and appeals records Francis vs. VI NOTE: "mistake of fact as to the victim's age is not a defense". The age of consent is 18 . There is however a close - in - age exemption that allows minors 16 and 17 years old to consent with someone no more than five years older than themselves and minors 13 to 15 years old to consent with one another, but not with anyone 16 or over . </P>

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