In Virginia, the charge of taking indecent liberties with a child primarily targets certain acts of a sexual nature when they are performed by an adult with a child under the age of 15 years old, though it also can concern adults participating in certain ways in the creation of pornography for anyone under 18. Most of the crimes are considered class 5 felonies, though the charges can be harsher under certain circumstances.
Virginia code considers an adult to be any person 18 or older. For the charge of taking indecent liberties with a child, the law says the perpetrator must commit the act “with lascivious intent, knowingly and intentionally,” for it to qualify as a crime. “Lascivious intent” refers to a state of mind that is desirous of sexual indulgence or inciting sexual desire. “Knowingly and intentionally” means the defendant knows and desires the consequences of the act in question. Whether the defendant knew or had reason to know the age of the child may also be relevant to whether he “knowingly and intentionally” committed the act. Finally, if the adult and the minor are married, there will be no crime under this particular code section.
Indecent Liberties Acts
Acts that qualify in Virginia as taking indecent liberties with a child – when the child is under the age of 15 – include:
· Either exposing one’s sexual or genital parts to a child or proposing that a child show those parts to an adult.
·Suggesting that a child feel or fondle one’s sexual or genital parts or that one do the same to the child.
· Proposing sexual intercourse to a child.
· Trying to get a child to enter some place, such as a home or car, for the purposes of committing one of these acts.
If these acts go beyond suggestions or enticements to sexual physical contact, such as intercourse, then the charges will be more severe than indecent liberties for the adult.
In addition, the set of indecent liberties charges in Virginia encompasses instances when an adult receives money or some other form of payment to allow, encourage or convince someone under 18 to appear in sexually explicit visual material, either performing an act or simply being the subject of the material.
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