It is not just a sex offense to have sexual intercourse or oral sex with a minor. Inappropriate touching, grabbing, fondling, may be “child enticement”. If you are 18 and the person you are dating is 17 1/2, they are still a minor. You can be charged criminally and be labeled a sex offender for the rest of your life.

Why is dating a minor wrong?

As mentioned above, a minors consent to sexual contact is irrelevant in the eyes of the law in California (in many other states, the age of consent is younger). “Dating” can certainly imply sexual contact, which is illegal between a fifteen-year-old and an eighteen-year-old. This obviously can be a big problem.