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Angel Aparicio De La Cruz and the girl had sex in the backyard of a Harrison home last July 11 after meeting on social media, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.
Whether the girl consented or not is irrelevant under the law.
Statutory rape occurs in New Jersey when one of the partners is between 13 and 16 and the other is at least four years older.
Those adults who claim “she/he looked 18″ — or that the victim showed a fake ID — have no defense, under what is known as the standard of strict liability. An adult also can’t claim that he or she was seduced.
It doesn’t matter that the girl or boy consents. Anyone under the age of 16 is deemed incapable of consenting to sex, under the law.
SEE: It’s Still Rape
Members of Suarez’s Special Victims Unit arrested De La Cruz on Wednesday, March 13.
He remained held in the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny, charged with sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and child endangerment.
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