(a) A person is guilty of statutory rape of a child by an adult if the person is at least 18 years of age and engages in vaginal intercourse with a victim who is a child under the age of 13 years.
(b) A person convicted of violating this section is guilty of a Class B1 felony and shall be sentenced pursuant to Article 81B of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes, except that in no case shall the person receive an active punishment of less than 300 months, and except as provided in subsection (c) of this section. Following the termination of active punishment, the person shall be subject to enrollment in satellite-based monitoring as provided in Part 5 of Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 81B of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes, the court may sentence the defendant to active punishment for a term of months greater than that authorized pursuant to G.S. 15A-1340.17, up to and including life imprisonment without parole, if the court finds that the nature of the offense and the harm inflicted are of such brutality, duration, severity, degree, or scope beyond that normally committed in such crimes, or considered in basic aggravation of these crimes, so as to require a sentence to active punishment in excess of that authorized pursuant to G.S. 15A-1340.17. If the court sentences the defendant pursuant to this subsection, it shall make findings of fact supporting its decision, to include matters it considered as egregious aggravation. Egregious aggravation can include further consideration of existing aggravating factors where the conduct of the defendant falls outside the heartland of cases even the aggravating factors were designed to cover. Egregious aggravation may also be considered based on the extraordinarily young age of the victim, or the depraved torture or mutilation of the victim, or extraordinary physical pain inflicted on the victim.
(d) Upon conviction, a person convicted under this section has no rights to custody of or rights of inheritance from any child born as a result of the commission of the rape, nor shall the person have any rights related to the child under Chapter 48 or Subchapter 1 of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes.
(e) The offense under G.S. 14-27.24 is a lesser included offense of the offense in this section. (2008-117, s. 1; 2015-181, s. 5(a), 5(b); 2021-182, s. 2(k).)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
27
cases (
15 in the last 5 years), 2015–2026 · leading case:
State v. Bryant, 804 S.E.2d 563 (N.C. Ct. App. 2017).
State v. Bryant, 804 S.E.2d 563 (N.C. Ct. App. 2017).
· cites it 16× “Criminal Sexual Conduct with Minors in the First Degree We do not reach the same conclusion regarding defendant's 1996 South Carolina conviction for criminal sexual conduct with minors in the first degree, which the trial court determined is substantially similar to North…”
State v. DeJesus, 827 S.E.2d 744 (N.C. Ct. App. 2019).
· cites it 6× “Pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-27.23 , the State was required to establish that the victim was "under the age of 13" and that Defendant was "at least 18 years of age" at the time of the offenses.”
State v. Dye, 802 S.E.2d 737 (N.C. Ct. App. 2017).
· cites it 2× “20, (ii) the offender is a recidivist, (iii) the conviction offense was an aggravated offense, (iv) the conviction offense was a violation of G.S. 14-27.23 or G.S. 14-27.28, or (v) the offense involved the physical, mental, or sexual abuse of a minor.”
State v. Baker, 369 N.C. 586 (N.C. 2017).
· cites it 3× “The General Assembly recodified this offense as N.C.G.S. § 14-27.23(a), effective 1 December 2015.”
Does v. Cooper, 148 F. Supp. 3d 477 (M.D.N.C. 2015).
“2A recodified as § 14-27.23); second-degree forcible rape (§ 14-27.”
State v. Kleist & Lipscomb (N.C. Ct. App. 2025).
· cites it 11× “” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-27.28 (a) (2023). Lipscomb argues that the State failed to prove that she “knowingly assisted, cooperated, or encouraged Kleist in specifically intended instances of rape and statutory sex offenses against” her children.”
State v. McGraw (N.C. Ct. App. 2026).
· cites it 7× “” N.C.G.S. § 14-27.23 (2022). According to -5- STATE V.”
State v. Watson (N.C. Ct. App. 2021).
· cites it 5× “On 15 August 2017, a Guilford County grand jury indicted Defendant for statutory rape of a child by an adult, in violation of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-27.23 . ¶ 13 Defendant was tried during the 24 June 2019 session of Guilford County STATE V.”
State v. Watson (N.C. Ct. App. 2021).
· cites it 5× “On 15 August 2017, a Guilford County grand jury indicted Defendant for statutory rape of a child by an adult, in violation of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-27.23 . ¶ 13 Defendant was tried during the 24 June 2019 session of Guilford County STATE V.”
State v. Mack (N.C. Ct. App. 2021).
· cites it 4× “22 (second-degree forcible rape), G.S. 14-27.23 (statutory rape of a child by an adult), G.”
State v. Maldonado, 817 S.E.2d 793 (N.C. Ct. App. 2018).
· cites it 4× “As acknowledged by Defendant, however, he was convicted under N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 14-27.2 (A)(1) and 14-27.”
State v. Mack (N.C. Ct. App. 2021).
· cites it 4× “22 (second-degree forcible rape), G.S. 14-27.23 (statutory rape of a child by an adult), G.”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-27.23(a) — 2 cases
State v. Baker, 369 N.C. 586 (N.C. 2017).
“The General Assembly recodified this offense as N.C.G.S. § 14-27.23(a), effective 1 December 2015.”
State v. Kleist & Lipscomb (N.C. Ct. App. 2025).
“” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-27.28 (a) (2023). Lipscomb argues that the State failed to prove that she “knowingly assisted, cooperated, or encouraged Kleist in specifically intended instances of rape and statutory sex offenses against” her children.”
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