Minnesota Senate Bill SF1047

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/6/25
• Refer: 2/6/25

Caption

Age of consent increase from 16 to 18 in criminal sexual conduct offenses involving offenders who are over 21 years of age

Summary

SF1047 amends Minnesota’s criminal sexual conduct statutes to raise the age threshold for certain offenses involving older offenders. Under current law, some sexual penetration or sexual contact offenses can be charged when the complainant is 16 or 17 and the actor is more than 36 months older, or in a position of authority, significant relationship, or other specified circumstances. This bill adds a new category making it third-degree criminal sexual conduct for sexual penetration, and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct for sexual contact, when the complainant is at least 16 but under 18 and the actor is 22 years of age or older. The bill preserves existing exceptions and defenses structure in the statutes, including rules about coercion, force, mental impairment, positions of authority, significant relationships, and prohibited occupational relationships. It also keeps the existing age-gap and mistake-of-age provisions for younger complainants, while creating the new 22-and-over rule as an additional basis for liability. The effective date is August 1, 2025, and the changes apply only to crimes committed on or after that date.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would expand criminal liability under Minnesota Statutes sections 609.344 and 609.345 by making sexual penetration or sexual contact with 16- and 17-year-olds a felony offense when the actor is 22 or older, regardless of consent or mistake of age. This would broaden the set of adult offenders subject to third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct charges and could affect prosecutions involving older adults and older teens, especially in cases not otherwise covered by authority, relationship, or coercion-based provisions.

Sentiment

The available record shows the bill was introduced and referred to the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, but there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided. Based on the bill’s caption and structure, the measure appears to be framed as a public safety and youth-protection proposal, suggesting support from sponsors for stricter age-of-consent rules in cases involving older adults. Because no debate or vote history is included, there is no documented opposition or consensus in the provided materials.

Contention

The main policy issue is the bill’s expansion of criminal liability for consensual sexual conduct between 16- and 17-year-olds and adults age 22 or older. Supporters are likely to view the change as a stronger safeguard for minors and a clearer bright-line rule, while potential critics may argue it criminalizes conduct involving older teens and consenting adults more broadly than current law. The bill also raises the question of whether the new age cutoff should be 22, since that threshold is not tied to the existing age-gap framework used elsewhere in the statutes.