Can You Date a Minor After You Turn 18

I am turning 18 in may and my girlfriend is only going to be 16 at the time. There has been no mention of any sexual activities at all. Her parents are not opposed to is going out. But i was told by some people that it is illegal for me to date her once i turn 18. Is this true? I am in north carolina and as far as i have read the age of consent is 16 (and that is for sexual things whereas we havent even mentioned sex)and the fact that we are only 2 years apart i thought it would be legal. Can somebody please help me out? I would like to know for sure and the other similar threads did not help as they all had to do with sexual relations and a much larger age gap. So please help me out with this.

Thank you,
Donovan

It is not illegal to date a minor (in any US state)

But you best make sure that you're doing nothing that you wouldn't also do with your grandmother. Holding hands, hugs, that's one thing. Anything more than that, and you may face some trouble even if she's of the legal age to consent.

Check with a lawyer in your state, don't fool around asking these questions on the Internet. I believe as long as she is 16, and you are no more then 4 years older then her, you would be fine. But don't take my word for it. It's your ass that will be in the pokey, not mine.

In NO state does the law give two hoots who the OP is dating, if by dating we are talking about hanging out at the mall, going to the movies, parties or school events, or whatever else kids do for amusement these days.

The law only cares about who the OP is having sexual contact with. The OP should note that sexual contact is not limited to intercourse.

As long as her parents are not opposed to your dating and as long as you limit any physical contact to what you could do with her parents still in the room with you, you should be fine.

You should be fine.....Age of consent in your state is 16.

Any sexual intercourse with a person under 16 years of age is prohibited unless the defendant is less than 4 years older than the victim except when married to the person {§14‑27.2, 14‑27.4 & 14‑27.7A}.

If I'm reading your statue correctly, you would be ok even if she was 15, as you being 18 are still less than 4 years older than her

That only means that the law won't throw him in jail. Trust me, there are other considerations as well. But if he keeps it zipped and keeps his hands to himself, he doesn't have a problem.

And he must remember that the very second Mom and/or Dad say "No", it really does mean "no".

Thank you all so much for your answers. I have been worried sick because we are in love and i couldnt imagine not being able to be with her. You have lifted a burden and i thank you all so very much.

I hate to be the Debbie Downer here, but I think you need a reality check.

You're 18. She's 16. You probably do feel like you're in love - and I get that. But the chances of you being together even a year from now are slim to none - and slim just left the building.

Emotionally she has a long way to go, and a lot more life to experience, before she starts thinking about long term relationships. She needs to do these things herself, without input from you.

If you genuinely care about her, back off and let her grow up some more. That's the correct and sensible answer. And if you can't imagine having to wait, ask yourself what that actually means. The answer is simple.

The initial question was not about sexual relations, so there's no need to take things in that direction. But please recall, this forum does not permit questions about when it's okay for minors to sleep with adults - please don't ask them and please also don't answer them or volunteer when sex might be "okay".