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

South Dakota's general age-based protections end at 16 under SDCL 22-22-1(5) (rape) and 22-22-7 and 22-22-7.3 (sexual contact), and persons under 18 are protected from sexual contact by a person in a position of authority or a family member under 22-22-7.8; most of the structure is tiered by age and by the actor's age.

To report a concern: if a child is in immediate danger, call 911. The South Dakota Department of Social Services states on its official page: "To report child abuse or neglect, please call 877.244.0864. Intake Specialists will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday." 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 Dakota's criminal statutes on sexual offenses involving minors, mainly Title 22 of the South Dakota Codified Laws: chapter 22-22 (sex offenses), 22-22A (offenses against the family), 22-23 (prostitution), 22-24 (obscenity and public indecency), 22-24A (child pornography and solicitation), 22-24B (registration) and 22-49 (human trafficking). Federal law is summarized on the age of consent laws by state hub. The text was read on the official South Dakota Legislature site (sdlegislature.gov) for this check.

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

How South Dakota law protects minors by age

South Dakota separates sexual penetration (rape, SDCL 22-22-1) from sexual contact (22-22-7, 22-22-7.3 and 22-22-7.8). The table summarizes the main provisions.

Under 13

Section 22-22-1 provides: "Rape is an act of sexual penetration accomplished with any person under any of the following circumstances: (1) If the victim is less than thirteen years of age." The section states that "A violation of subdivision (1) is rape in the first degree, which is a Class C felony," and that no statute of limitations applies to a charge under subdivision (1) or (2). Sexual contact with a child under 13 by a person 16 or older is charged under 22-22-7.

13 to under 16

Section 22-22-1(5) applies "If the victim is thirteen years of age, but less than sixteen years of age, and the perpetrator is at least three years older than the victim." A violation of subdivision (5) is rape in the fourth degree, a Class 3 felony. Under 22-22-7.7, a subsequent conviction of 22-22-1(5) or 22-22-7 by an adult who has a prior conviction of 22-22-1(5), a prior felony conviction of 22-22-7, or a prior misdemeanor conviction of 22-22-7 for a violation committed as an adult is a Class 2 felony.

Sexual contact with a person under 16

Section 22-22-7 applies to "Any person, sixteen years of age or older, who knowingly engages in sexual contact with another person" under the age of 16. The offense is a Class 3 felony. The section adds: "If the victim is at least thirteen years of age and the actor is less than five years older than the victim, the actor is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."

Section 22-22-7.3 covers a person younger than 16 who knowingly engages in sexual contact with another person younger than 16, and makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor.

How the age provisions work

The three-year condition in 22-22-1(5) is an element of that rape offense: the perpetrator must be at least three years older than the victim. It applies to penetration where the victim is 13 but less than 16.

The five-year provision in 22-22-7 works differently. It is a grading rule: the sexual contact is an offense under 22-22-7 in either case, and where the victim is at least 13 and the actor is less than five years older the grade is a Class 1 misdemeanor rather than a Class 3 felony. Section 22-22-7.3 is a separate misdemeanor offense for an actor younger than 16. Neither changes whether the conduct is an offense.

Position of authority and family members

Section 22-22-7.8 applies to a person who "Is at least eighteen years of age," "Is at least five years older than the victim," "Is in a position of authority, as defined in this section, or is a family member related by consanguinity or affinity within the fifth degree, as defined by § 23A-20-30, to the victim," and "Knowingly engages in sexual contact, or touches the buttocks or upper inner thighs of the victim with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of the person or the victim," with a victim who is less than 18. It is a Class 6 felony.

A person is in a position of authority if, at the time of the sexual contact or within the 120-day period immediately before it, the person interacts, no matter how briefly, with the victim as a coach, child care provider, disability services provider, guardian ad litem, health care provider, law enforcement officer, mental health counselor, probation officer, religious leader, school administrator, social worker, teacher, therapist or youth leader. The section is written in terms of sexual contact, which 22-22-7.1 defines as touching "not amounting to rape," and the specified touching.

Other South Dakota statutes that protect minors

The following additional statutes apply to minors and can apply even where none of the offenses above does.

• Rape and sexual contact at any age. Section 22-22-1 also applies to sexual penetration with a person of any age accomplished through force, coercion, or threats of immediate and great bodily harm against the victim or other persons within the victim's presence (second degree, Class 1 felony), with a victim the perpetrator knows or reasonably should know is incapable of consent because of physical or mental incapacity or an intoxicating, narcotic or anesthetic agent or hypnosis (third degree, Class 2 felony), or without the victim's consent where the perpetrator knows or reasonably should know the victim is not consenting (fourth degree, Class 3 felony). Section 22-22-7.2 makes sexual contact by a person 15 or older with a person 16 or older who is incapable of consenting because of physical or mental incapacity a Class 4 felony.
• Aggravated incest. Section 22-22A-3 applies to an act of sexual penetration with a person under 18 who is the child of the perpetrator or of a spouse or former spouse of the perpetrator, or is related to the perpetrator within the degrees of consanguinity within which marriage is void under 25-1-6. Section 22-22A-3.1 applies to a person 18 or older who engages in sexual penetration with a person under 18 who has been placed and resides in a licensed foster home, where the perpetrator is the licensed foster care provider or a resident of the provider's home related to the provider by blood or marriage. Each is a Class 3 felony.
• Incest. Section 22-22A-2 makes a mutually consensual act of sexual penetration between persons 18 or older within the prohibited degrees of relationship a Class 5 felony. It has no minor element.
• Solicitation of a minor. Section 22-24A-5 applies to a person 18 or older who solicits a minor, or someone the person reasonably believes is a minor, to engage in a prohibited sexual act. For this section, "minor" means a person 15 years of age or younger. It is a Class 4 felony.
• Promoting prostitution of a minor. Section 22-23-2(2) makes promoting the prostitution of a minor a Class 5 felony.
• Human trafficking in the first degree. Section 22-49-2(2) applies where the act involves a victim under 18. It is a Class 2 felony with a mandatory sentence of at least 15 years for a first offense, which may not be suspended.
• Indecent exposure involving a child. Section 22-24-1.3 applies to a person 18 or older who, with the intent to arouse or gratify sexual desire, intentionally exposes genitals to a child 13 or younger. It is a Class 6 felony, and a Class 5 felony for a second or subsequent conviction.
• Sexual exploitation of a minor. Section 22-22-24.3 applies to a person who causes or knowingly permits a minor to engage in an activity, or the simulation of an activity, that is harmful to minors, involves nudity or is obscene. It is a Class 6 felony.
• Child pornography. Sections 22-24A-35, 22-24A-36 and 22-24A-37 cover possession (Class 4 felony), distribution (Class 3 felony) and manufacture (Class 2 felony) involving a person under 18, each with a mandatory minimum sentence for a first offense of one, five and ten years respectively, from which 22-24A-42 permits a departure on written mitigating findings. The sections also cover computer-generated child pornography.
• Psychotherapist offenses. Sections 22-22-28 and 22-22-29 cover sexual contact (Class 5 felony) and sexual penetration (Class 4 felony) by a psychotherapist with a patient who is emotionally dependent on the psychotherapist. The definition of psychotherapist in 22-22-27 includes members of the clergy.
• Jail and juvenile facility employees. Section 22-22-7.6 covers sexual contact or penetration by a jail or juvenile correctional facility employee with a detainee under the employee's custodial, supervisory or disciplinary authority, where the act does not otherwise constitute a felony under chapter 22-22. It is a Class 4 felony if the victim is a juvenile.
• Abuse of a minor and permitting abuse. Section 26-10-1 makes abusing, exposing, torturing, tormenting or cruelly punishing a minor in a manner that does not constitute aggravated assault a Class 4 felony, and a Class 3 felony if the victim is less than seven. Section 26-10-30 makes it a Class 6 felony for a parent, guardian or custodian to knowingly permit physical or sexual abuse of a child.
• Sale of child pornography. Section 22-24A-1 makes selling or displaying for sale an image depicting a minor engaging in a prohibited sexual act, or in an activity that involves nudity, a Class 4 felony.

Penalties

South Dakota sets each offense's grade in the offense section and the authorized sentence for each class in 22-6-1 (felonies) and 22-6-2 (misdemeanors).

Under 22-22-1.2, if an adult is convicted of a violation of 22-22-1(1), the court shall impose a minimum sentence of 15 years for a first offense; for a violation of 22-22-7 where the victim is less than 13, the minimum is 10 years for a first offense. Section 22-22-1.4 permits the court to depart from a minimum on written mitigating findings.

Sex offender registration

Registration is governed by SDCL chapter 22-24B. The list in 22-24B-1 includes "(1) Rape as set forth in § 22-22-1; (2) Felony sexual contact with a minor under sixteen as set forth in § 22-22-7 if committed by an adult." It also lists incest if committed by an adult, child pornography offenses, sexual exploitation of a minor, promoting prostitution of a minor, solicitation of a minor, indecent exposure involving a child, and human trafficking where the victim is a minor. The psychotherapist and detainee offenses are listed where the victim is a minor.

Section 22-24B-2.1 states: "Placement in Tier III requires registrants to register throughout their lifetime. Placement in Tier II requires registrants to register for a minimum of twenty-five years. Placement in Tier I requires registrants to register for a minimum of five years." A person on the registry who is not eligible for removal under 22-24B-19 and 22-24B-19.1 is a Tier III offender, and under 22-24B-7 a person subject to 22-24B-2 "shall reregister every six months."

Tier I removal is available by petition for certain offenses, including statutory rape under 22-22-1(5) "but only if the petitioner was twenty-one years of age or younger at the time the offense was committed or attempted," and sexual contact under 22-22-7 if the victim was between 13 and 16 and the petitioner was at least three years older, on the same 21-or-younger condition. One of the removal criteria is that "The circumstances surrounding the crime requiring registration did not involve a child under the age of thirteen." Rape in the first degree under 22-22-1(1) is not on a removal track.

The offense in 22-22-7.8, and the misdemeanor forms of 22-22-7 and 22-22-7.3, are not in the 22-24B-1 list. This is a registration provision and does not change whether the underlying conduct is an offense.

Recent changes

Section 22-22-7.8 was amended by SL 2025, ch 93 (Senate Bill 115). Compared with the 2022 text, it added family members related by consanguinity or affinity within the fifth degree, separated the actor-age and five-year requirements into separate numbered items, and reworded the elements. The position-of-authority roles and the 120-day period were already in the 2022 text. Section 22-22-1 was last amended by SL 2023, ch 70, 22-22-7 by SL 2010, ch 115 and 22-22-7.3 by SL 2005, ch 120. SL 2024, chs 87 and 88 rewrote the child pornography penalties (22-24A-35 to 22-24A-37) and the registration tier and removal provisions (22-24B-2.1 and 22-24B-19). The official chapter pages read for this check carry session laws through 2026.

How to report

If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. The South Dakota Department of Social Services child protection page states: "To report child abuse or neglect, please call 877.244.0864. Intake Specialists will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday." 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 Dakota 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 Dakota.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do the penetration and contact statutes use different age rules?

Section 22-22-1(5) makes a three-year age difference an element of rape in the fourth degree for a victim 13 but less than 16. Section 22-22-7 covers sexual contact with a person under 16 by an actor 16 or older as a Class 3 felony and uses a five-year difference only to set the grade at a Class 1 misdemeanor where the victim is at least 13. Section 22-22-7.3 separately covers an actor younger than 16.

Does a person's age of 16 or 17 end all age-based protection?

The general provisions in 22-22-1(5), 22-22-7 and 22-22-7.3 refer to persons under 16. Section 22-22-7.8 separately protects persons under 18 from sexual contact by an actor at least 18 and at least five years older who is in a listed position of authority or is a family member within the fifth degree, and other statutes on this page apply to persons under 18.

Where can the statute text be found?

The South Dakota Codified Laws are published by the South Dakota Legislature at sdlegislature.gov. Chapter 22-22 contains the rape and sexual contact offenses, 22-24B the registration provisions and 22-6 the classes of felonies and misdemeanors.