Va. Code » Title 18.2. Crimes and Offenses Generally » Chapter 8. Crimes Involving Morals and Decency » Article 3. Commercial Sex Trafficking, Prostitution, Etc.
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-361 (2026)

Crimes against nature; penalty

✓ current as of May 2026
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A. If any person carnally knows in any manner any brute animal or voluntarily submits to such carnal knowledge, he is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

B. Any person who performs or causes to be performed cunnilingus, fellatio, anilingus, or anal intercourse upon or by his daughter or granddaughter, son or grandson, brother or sister, or father or mother is guilty of a Class 5 felony. However, if a parent or grandparent commits any such act with his child or grandchild and such child or grandchild is at least 13 but less than 18 years of age at the time of the offense, such parent or grandparent is guilty of a Class 3 felony.

C. For the purposes of this section, parent includes step-parent, grandparent includes step-grandparent, child includes step-child, and grandchild includes step-grandchild.

Code 1950, § 18.1-212; 1960, c. 358; 1968, c. 427; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1977, c. 285; 1981, c. 397; 1993, c. 450; 2005, c. 185; 2014, c. 794.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 148 cases (20 in the last 5 years), 1978–2025 · leading case: Singson v. Commonwealth, 621 S.E.2d 682 (Va. Ct. App. 2005).
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Singson v. Commonwealth, 621 S.E.2d 682 (Va. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 114× “Thus, Singson argues that he cannot be convicted for attempting, through solicitation, to violate that statute.”
Tjan v. Commonwealth, 621 S.E.2d 669 (Va. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 78× “And, because the statute is facially unconstitutional, Tjan concludes that he cannot be convicted for attempting, through solicitation, to violate that statute. In the alternative, Tjan contends that Code § 18.”
Arthur Anderson Warren v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 822 S.E.2d 395 (Va. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 68× “He asserts on appeal that the trial court erred in failing to dismiss the indictment because Code § 18.2-361(A) is unconstitutional in that it criminalizes “private sexual conduct of consenting adults.”
DePriest v. Commonwealth, 537 S.E.2d 1 (Va. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 40× “1 The appellants contend that the trial court erred in ruling that Code § 18.2-361: (1) does not violate the fundamental right to privacy guaranteed by Article I of the Constitution of Virginia; (2) does not violate the prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment contained…”
McDonald v. Com., 645 S.E.2d 918 (Va. 2007). · cites it 26× “In this appeal, we consider a constitutional challenge to Code § 18.2-361 prohibiting sodomy. I. Facts The facts of this case are not in dispute.”
McDonald v. Commonwealth, 630 S.E.2d 754 (Va. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 40× “Analysis Neither party disputes the timing of these encounters; what acts took place then; that the female participants were ages sixteen and seventeen, respectively; or that Code § 18.”
Santillo v. Commonwealth, 517 S.E.2d 733 (Va. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 30× “Giulio Santillo (appellant) was convicted of sodomy involving a sixteen-year-old victim, in violation of Code § 18.2-361. On appeal, he contends the trial court erred in denying his pretrial motion to dismiss the indictment because (1) the statute violates his constitutional…”
Michael Jonthan Garland Saunders v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 753 S.E.2d 602 (Va. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 18× “Specifically, appellant challenges the trial court’s subject matter jurisdiction, asserting that the statute upon which appellant’s underlying convictions were based has been declared unconstitutional on its face, thereby rendering the underlying convictions void and depriving…”
Adam Toghill v. Harold Clarke, 877 F.3d 547 (4th Cir. 2017). · cites it 9× “Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-361 (A) (2005), in turn, prohibited “carnally knowing] in any manner any brute animal, or carnally knowing] any male1 or female person by the anus or by or with the mouth,” including “voluntarily submitting] to such carnal knowledge.”
Ashby v. Commonwealth, 535 S.E.2d 182 (Va. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 8× “BACKGROUND Appellant was arrested on September 1, 1998, on warrants charging five violations of Code § 18.2-361, which prohibits “Crimes against nature.”
Palmer v. Atl. Coast Pipeline, LLC, 801 S.E.2d 414 (Va. 2017). · cites it 4× “2d 918, 921 (2007) (refusing to consider a facial invalidity challenge to Code § 18.2-361(A) because the appellant never raised such a claim in the circuit court); see also Jones v.”
Chaine v. Commonwealth, 436 S.E.2d 187 (Va. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 21× “2-366, and carnal knowledge by a parent with a child between the ages of thirteen and fifteen, Code § 18.2-361. At the conclusion of the evidence, the trial judge dismissed the incest charge and convicted Chaine of the other charges.”
Show all 148 citing cases →
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-361(A) — 29 cases
Arthur Anderson Warren v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 822 S.E.2d 395 (Va. Ct. App. 2019). “He asserts on appeal that the trial court erred in failing to dismiss the indictment because Code § 18.2-361(A) is unconstitutional in that it criminalizes “private sexual conduct of consenting adults.”
McDonald v. Commonwealth, 630 S.E.2d 754 (Va. Ct. App. 2006). “Analysis Neither party disputes the timing of these encounters; what acts took place then; that the female participants were ages sixteen and seventeen, respectively; or that Code § 18.”
Michael Jonthan Garland Saunders v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 753 S.E.2d 602 (Va. Ct. App. 2014). “Specifically, appellant challenges the trial court’s subject matter jurisdiction, asserting that the statute upon which appellant’s underlying convictions were based has been declared unconstitutional on its face, thereby rendering the underlying convictions void and depriving…”
McDonald v. Com., 645 S.E.2d 918 (Va. 2007). “In this appeal, we consider a constitutional challenge to Code § 18.2-361 prohibiting sodomy. I. Facts The facts of this case are not in dispute.”
Palmer v. Atl. Coast Pipeline, LLC, 801 S.E.2d 414 (Va. 2017). “2d 918, 921 (2007) (refusing to consider a facial invalidity challenge to Code § 18.2-361(A) because the appellant never raised such a claim in the circuit court); see also Jones v.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-361(B) — 3 cases
Arthur Anderson Warren v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 822 S.E.2d 395 (Va. Ct. App. 2019). “He asserts on appeal that the trial court erred in failing to dismiss the indictment because Code § 18.2-361(A) is unconstitutional in that it criminalizes “private sexual conduct of consenting adults.”
Oswaldo Ramirez v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2025).
Jonathan Cornelius McNeal v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2023).
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-361(C) — 1 case
Oswaldo Ramirez v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2025).
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