Despite Rising Crime, Nation’s Capital Is at Forefront of Cities Pushing Leniency

A protester throws a U.S. flag into a burning barricade during a demonstration against the death of George Floyd near the White House on May 31, 2020. Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON, D.C.—“But she told me she was 16 years old.”

Under a new criminal code being considered by the District of Columbia city council, that statement would be what is called “an affirmative defense to liability” for an adult who has sex with a minor. Put more plainly, an adult accused of sexual activity with a minor could avoid culpability if found to have “reasonably” believed the child’s claim at the time to have reached the age of consent.