Age of Consent

Age of Consent

Attention all Guam youth! You are hereby informed that the age ofconsent in Guam is 16 years old!

What does the age of consent mean?

It means that, legally, a person must be at least 16 years old to consent to sex. That also means that if you are 16 or older, it is illegal for you to have sex with someone under the age of 16 (yes, even someone who is "almost" 16). If you do, you could be charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct.

Additionally, if you are 18 or older and have sex with someone under 16, you could be charged as an adult and it could stay on your record for the rest of your life.

Furthermore, the law states that claiming you thought the minor was 16 is not a valid argument if the minor was under 14. In other words, the police or prosecutor may believe that you thought a 15 year old was 16 or even 18, but they will not believe that you thought a 12 year old was
16.

“Beyond Control”

Does this mean that once you turn 16 you are free to have sex with whomever you
want, even if your parents don't approve? No, it does not.

As long as you are a minor (17 or younger), you are under the "custody and control"
of your parents or legal guardian. You can still be charged with "beyond control" for disobeying
your parents, leaving without permission, etc.

They do not have to let you go out with your boyfriend or girlfriend just because you are at the age of consent.

The only difference is that if you consent to sexual contact with your partner, he or she
cannot be charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct because you are at the age of consent.

Definition of Sexual Contact

By the way, sexual contact does not just mean sexual intercourse. Think of sexual contact as anything you would never do with your brother or sister, parent or teacher.

Parents can even be arrested for allowing this kind of contact, for example, allowing the boyfriend to sleep over. There have been cases where parents have been arrested, usually because the girl becomes pregnant and the authorities find out that the parents knew about the relationship and even allowed the boyfriend to live in the house.

Age of Consent Does Not Exclude Same-Sex Relationships

By the way, even though it cannot result in pregnancy, same-sex relationships are just as illegal as heterosexual relationships when it comes to the age of consent. Also keep in mind that the older person always gets in bigger trouble than the younger person. The idea is that the older person should have known better.

So, if you want to stay out of trouble, and if you don't want other people to get in trouble for your sake, limit your dating pool to people your age. To quote one seasoned attorney who reviewed this article "if they don't have a driver's license, don't have sexual contact with them!"

Blog Post Written by: Rosemarie B. Camacho, MA, IMFT, ICADC

Rosemarie B. Camacho is a Individual, Marriage, and Family Therapist and Certified Substance Abuse Treatment Counselor III who specializes in sexual assault recovery, family violence, substance abuse, depression, and anxiety.  She currently serves as the President of the Association of Individual, Marriage and Family Therapists. You may learn more about Rosemarie's professional training and experience at http://www.linkedin.com/in/rosemariecamacho