The Law that makes punishable by imprisonment the improper relationships between adults and minors was approved in the Legislature’s second debate.
The reform had 43 votes in favor and 4 votes against (3 legislators from Movimiento Libertario and Ligia Fallas, from Frente Amplio).
The initiative reforms Articles 159 and 161 of the Penal Code, also amending and repealing articles from the Family Code, Civil Code and the Organic Law of the Supreme Court of Elections and Civil Registry.
According to the act, it is punishable with imprisonment to have oral, anal or vaginal intercourse with a minor, on the condition that it is not a rape, in the following cases:
-When the victim is older than 13 years old and younger than 15 years old and the perpetrator is 5 or more years older, the punishment will be imprisonment from three to six years.
-When the victim is over 15 years old and under 18 years old and the perpetrator is 7 or more years older, the person will be imprisoned from two to three years.
-When the perpetrator is related to the victim, such as an uncle, an aunt, a brother, a sister or a cousin, by blood or affinity, or if the offender is a guardian or in a position of trust or authority over the victim or the victim’s family, the punishment will be imprisonment from 4 to 10 years.