South Carolina Age of Consent Laws: Statutes, Penalties and Reporting

South Carolina's criminal sexual conduct with a minor statute protects children under 16 (S.C. Code 16-3-655), and secondary-school students 16 or older are protected from sexual battery by school personnel (16-3-755); most of the structure is tiered by the victim's age and by the actor's circumstances.

To report a concern: if a child is in immediate danger, call 911. The South Carolina Department of Social Services states on its official page: "To report suspected child abuse or neglect, contact the SCDSS 24-hour, toll-free hotline at 1-888-CARE4US or 1-888-227-3487." The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-422-4453, call or text) can help you figure out where and how to report. Online exploitation can be reported to the NCMEC CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678.

Information last verified on 2026-09-30. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer. It is legal-reference information, not legal advice.

This page covers South Carolina's criminal statutes on sexual offenses involving minors, mainly Title 16, chapter 3 (offenses against the person, including criminal sexual conduct, sexual performance by children and trafficking), Title 16, chapter 15 (offenses against morality and decency) and the sex offender registry statute in Title 23, chapter 3. Federal law is summarized on the age of consent laws by state hub. The text was read on the official South Carolina Legislature site (scstatehouse.gov) for this check.

This page describes the main age-based sexual offense statutes. Other South Carolina statutes also protect minors, and one of them can apply even where none of the offenses described here does.

How South Carolina law protects minors by age

South Carolina groups its main offense, criminal sexual conduct with a minor, into three degrees in S.C. Code 16-3-655. "Sexual battery" is defined in 16-3-651. The table summarizes the provisions.

First degree

Section 16-3-655(A)(1) applies where "the actor engages in sexual battery with a victim who is less than eleven years of age." Section 16-3-655(A)(2) applies where the actor "engages in sexual battery with a victim who is less than sixteen years of age and the actor has previously been convicted of, pled guilty or nolo contendere to, or adjudicated delinquent for an offense listed in Section 23-3-430(C) or has been ordered to be included in the sex offender registry pursuant to Section 23-3-430(D)."

Second degree

Section 16-3-655(B)(1) applies where "the actor engages in sexual battery with a victim who is fourteen years of age or less but who is at least eleven years of age." Section 16-3-655(B)(2) applies where "the actor engages in sexual battery with a victim who is at least fourteen years of age but who is less than sixteen years of age and the actor is in a position of familial, custodial, or official authority to coerce the victim to submit or is older than the victim."

Third degree: lewd or lascivious acts

Section 16-3-655(C) provides that a person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the third degree "if the actor is over fourteen years of age and the actor wilfully and lewdly commits or attempts to commit a lewd or lascivious act upon or with the body, or its parts, of a child under sixteen years of age, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of the actor or the child."

How the provision for persons 18 or less works

Item (B)(2) and subsection (C) each end with a proviso. Section 16-3-655(B)(2) states: "However, a person may not be convicted of a violation of the provisions of this item if he is eighteen years of age or less when he engages in consensual sexual conduct with another person who is at least fourteen years of age." Subsection (C) states: "However, a person may not be convicted of a violation of the provisions of this subsection if the person is eighteen years of age or less when the person engages in consensual lewd or lascivious conduct with another person who is at least fourteen years of age."

The provisions turn on the actor being 18 or less, not on a difference in years between the two persons. Each proviso is written inside the item or subsection it modifies; neither appears in (A)(1), (A)(2) or (B)(1). Under the registry statute, a court finding of this kind can also affect registration, as described below.

School personnel and positions of authority

Section 16-3-755 concerns "a person affiliated with a public or private secondary school in an official capacity" who engages in sexual battery with a student enrolled in the school. Subsection (A)(3) lists the roles as "an administrator, teacher, substitute teacher, teacher's assistant, student teacher, law enforcement officer, school bus driver, guidance counselor, or coach who is affiliated with a public or private secondary school but is not a student enrolled in the school."

For a student "sixteen or seventeen years of age," where aggravated coercion or aggravated force is not used, the person is guilty of a felony and "must be imprisoned for not more than five years" (16-3-755(B)). For a student 18 or older, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for 30 days, or both (16-3-755(C)); where the person has direct supervisory authority over the student, it is a felony with imprisonment of not more than five years (16-3-755(D)).

Separately, 16-3-655(B)(2) names an actor "in a position of familial, custodial, or official authority" for a victim who is at least 14 but less than 16.

Other South Carolina statutes that protect minors

The following additional statutes apply to minors and can apply even where none of the offenses above does. The penalties below are those quoted from the official text.

• Criminal sexual conduct. Sections 16-3-652, 16-3-653 and 16-3-654 (first, second and third degree) apply to sexual battery with a victim of any age accomplished by force or coercion, or with a victim the actor knows or has reason to know is mentally defective, mentally incapacitated or physically helpless. Second degree (aggravated coercion) carries imprisonment of not more than 20 years and third degree not more than 10 years.
• Incest. Section 16-15-20 applies to carnal intercourse between persons within the listed degrees of relationship, including a man with his mother, grandmother, daughter, granddaughter, stepmother or sister. It has no age element. The punishment is a fine of not less than $500 or imprisonment of not less than one year, or both.
• Luring a child. Section 16-15-340 applies to a person 18 or older who, with the intent to harm a child or for any other unlawful purpose, lures, entices or attempts to lure or entice a child, defined as a person under 16. It is a felony punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000, imprisonment of not more than 10 years, or both.
• Criminal solicitation of a minor. Section 16-15-342 applies to a person 18 or older who knowingly contacts or communicates with a person under 18, or one reasonably believed to be under 18, for the purpose of persuading, inducing, enticing or coercing sexual activity. Under 16-15-342(B) and (C), consent is a defense if the person is at least 16 and is not a defense if the person is under 16. It is a felony punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000, imprisonment of not more than 10 years, or both.
• Promoting prostitution of a minor. Section 16-15-415 is a felony with imprisonment of not less than three years nor more than 20 years; no part of the minimum may be suspended and parole is not available until the minimum is served.
• Participating in the prostitution of a minor. Section 16-15-425 applies to a person who is not a minor and who patronizes a minor prostitute. It is a felony with imprisonment of not less than two years nor more than five years, with the same limits on suspension and parole.
• Trafficking in persons. Section 16-3-2020(C) applies where the victim is under 18. It is a felony with imprisonment of not more than 30 years, and not more than 45 years for a second or subsequent offense where the victim is under 18.
• Sexual performance by a child. Section 16-3-810 (employing, authorizing or inducing a child younger than 18 to engage in a sexual performance) is punished as second degree criminal sexual conduct under 16-3-653, up to 20 years. Section 16-3-820 (producing, directing or promoting a performance that includes sexual conduct by a child younger than 18) is punished as third degree criminal sexual conduct under 16-3-654, up to 10 years.
• Sexual exploitation of a minor. Section 16-15-395 (first degree) carries not less than five years nor more than 20 years. Section 16-15-405 (second degree) carries not less than three years nor more than 10 years. Section 16-15-410 (third degree, possession) carries not more than 10 years for one to 25 images, one to 10 years for 26 to 250 images, and two to 10 years for more than 250 images. These penalties are as amended by 2026 Act No. 189 (H.4804), effective May 18, 2026, which also added an additional five years (16-15-395) or a five-year minimum (16-15-405 and 16-15-410) for a person previously convicted of an offense that required sex offender registration. Each is a felony, and each covers a visual representation of a minor or, since 2025, a morphed image of an identifiable minor.
• Obscene depictions of minors. Section 16-15-390, enacted by 2025 Act No. 57, applies to producing, distributing, soliciting or possessing an obscene visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, activity or nudity. It is a felony punishable by imprisonment of not more than 10 years, and the section states that it is not a required element that the minor depicted actually exists.
• Harmful material and performances. Section 16-15-385 applies to disseminating material harmful to minors to a person under 18, or allowing a minor to view a harmful live performance; 16-15-387 applies to employing a person under 18 to appear in a state of sexually explicit nudity in a public place. Each is a felony punishable by imprisonment of not more than 10 years or a fine of not more than $5,000, or both.
• Sexual extortion. Section 16-15-430(C) makes aggravated felony sexual extortion, where the victim is a minor (under 18) and the person convicted is an adult, punishable by imprisonment of not more than 20 years.
• Disseminating obscene material to a minor. Sections 16-15-345 and 16-15-355 apply to an individual 18 or older who disseminates obscene material to a person under 18 (345, up to 10 years) or to a minor 12 or younger (355, up to 15 years).
• Indecent exposure. Section 16-15-130 applies to a person who wilfully, maliciously and indecently exposes his person in a public place. It has no minor-age element and is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine, imprisonment of not more than three years, or both.

Penalties for the main offenses

For a person with a prior first degree conviction for a victim under 11, 16-3-655 provides that the person "must be punished by death or by imprisonment for life, as provided in this section." Death eligibility requires that the current and prior offense involved sexual or anal intercourse by a person or intrusion by an object; otherwise the sentence is life imprisonment. Subsection (E) sets the procedure for that penalty.

Sex offender registration

Registration is governed by Title 23, chapter 3. Under 23-3-430(C), 16-3-655(A) (first degree) is a Tier III offense, and 16-3-655(B) (second degree) and 16-3-655(C) (third degree) are Tier II offenses. The statute lists other offenses by tier, including:

• Tier I: incest (16-15-20), and indecent exposure only where the court makes a specific finding on the record that the person should register (23-3-430(C)(1)(f)).
• Tier II: sexual performance offenses (16-3-810 and 16-3-820), first, second and third degree sexual exploitation of a minor, trafficking in persons (except when the court finds the offense did not include a criminal sexual offense), criminal solicitation of a minor where the purpose was sexual activity, and violations of Article 3, Chapter 15, Title 16 involving a minor (23-3-430(C)(2)(h)).
• Tier I for sexual exploitation offenses that relate to a morphed image of an identifiable minor.

The registry statute also provides relief for certain convictions. For a second or third degree conviction, "If evidence is presented at the criminal proceeding, or in any court of competent jurisdiction, and the court makes a specific finding on the record that the conviction obtained for this offense resulted from consensual sexual conduct, as contained in Section 16-3-655(B)(2), provided the offender is eighteen years of age or less, or consensual sexual conduct between persons under sixteen years of age, the convicted person is not an offender and is not required to register." This is a registration provision and does not change whether the underlying conduct is an offense.

"A person required to register pursuant to this article is required to register biannually for life subject to the provisions of Section 23-3-462 and Section 23-3-463." Under 23-3-460(B), a person classified as a Tier III offender under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) is required to register every 90 days. Under 23-3-462, a Tier I offender may file a request for termination after at least 15 years of registration and a Tier II offender after at least 25 years, subject to other conditions in that section; an offender convicted as an adult who is required to register as Tier III may not file a request for termination.

Recent changes

Section 16-3-655 was last amended by 2012 Act No. 255 (effective June 18, 2012), and 16-3-755 was enacted by 2010 Act No. 265 (effective June 24, 2010). Two more recent acts changed related statutes. 2024 Act No. 213 (S.142, effective July 2, 2024) enacted the luring a child offense in 16-15-340. 2025 Act No. 57 (S.28, effective May 22, 2025) enacted 16-15-390 on obscene depictions of minors, and 2025 Act No. 58 (S.29, same date) added a "morphed image of an identifiable minor" to the sexual exploitation of a minor offenses; both acts amended the registry list in 23-3-430(C). 2026 Act No. 189 (H.4804, effective May 18, 2026) raised the minimum sentences for first and second degree sexual exploitation of a minor and set image-count penalties for third degree. The check relied on the history notes on the official code pages and on the Legislature's list of 2026 acts, because the code pages had not yet been updated for 2026 acts.

How to report

If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. The South Carolina Department of Social Services page on reporting child abuse and neglect states: "To report suspected child abuse or neglect, contact the SCDSS 24-hour, toll-free hotline at 1-888-CARE4US or 1-888-227-3487." The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-422-4453, call or text) and the NCMEC CyberTipline (report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678) are also available.

Disclaimer

This page is general legal information about South Carolina criminal statutes as verified on 2026-09-30. It is not legal advice. Statutes change, summaries simplify, and the statute text controls. Anyone with a specific situation should consult a lawyer licensed in South Carolina.

Related articles

• Age of consent laws by state
• South Carolina sexting laws
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Frequently Asked Questions

Which age does the main South Carolina statute use?

Section 16-3-655 protects victims under 16 in its tiers: under 11 and, with a prior listed offense, under 16 (first degree); 11 through 14, and 14 or 15 with an actor in a position of familial, custodial or official authority or older than the victim (second degree); and a child under 16 for lewd or lascivious acts by an actor over 14 (third degree).

Does the school-personnel statute have the same age limit?

No. Section 16-3-755 covers a student enrolled in the school who is 16 or 17 (felony) and a student 18 or older (misdemeanor, or felony where the person has direct supervisory authority).

Where can the statute text be found?

The South Carolina Code of Laws is published by the South Carolina Legislature at scstatehouse.gov. Title 16, chapter 3 contains 16-3-655 and 16-3-755, Title 16, chapter 15 the related offenses, and Title 23, chapter 3 the registry provisions.