Va. Code » Title 18.2. Crimes and Offenses Generally » Chapter 8. Crimes Involving Morals and Decency » Article 4. Family Offenses; Crimes Against Children, Etc.
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-366 (2026)

Sexual intercourse by persons forbidden to marry; incest; penalties

✓ current as of May 2026
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A. Any person who engages in sexual intercourse with any person whom he is forbidden by law to marry is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor except as provided by subsection B.

B. Any person who engages in sexual intercourse with his daughter or granddaughter, son or grandson, or father or mother is guilty of a Class 5 felony. However, if a parent or grandparent engages in sexual intercourse with his child or grandchild, and such child or grandchild is at least 13 years of age 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 stepparent, grandparent includes step-grandparent, child includes a stepchild, and grandchild includes a step-grandchild.

Code 1950, § 18.1-191; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1981, c. 397; 1993, c. 703; 2014, c. 542; 2020, cc. 122, 900.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 30 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1986–2026 · leading case: Bridgeman v. Commonwealth, 351 S.E.2d 598 (Va. Ct. App. 1986).
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Bridgeman v. Commonwealth, 351 S.E.2d 598 (Va. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 2× “Jimmy Lee Bridgeman appeals his jury trial conviction for incest, Code § 18.2-366, for which he was sentenced to five years in the penitentiary.”
Via v. Commonwealth, 590 S.E.2d 583 (Va. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 4× “1, and incest, in violation of Code § 18.2-366. Via contends that the trial court erred by: 1) “prompting and soliciting evidentiary objections from the Commonwealth” and “berating and belittling defense counsel,” while in the presence of the jury; 2) refusing to admit relevant…”
Colbert v. Commonwealth, 624 S.E.2d 108 (Va. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 2× “2-366 (adultery and fornication by persons forbidden to marry, and incest) (all of which are non-specific in terms of the victim’s age, except for the degree of punishment in the case of incest, under Code § 18.2-366). And of these sexual offenses, sexual battery and attempted…”
Bevel v. Com., 717 S.E.2d 789 (Va. 2011). · cites it 2× “On May 21, 2007, James Luther Bevel was indicted by the Grand Jury in the Circuit Court of Loudoun County for violating Code § 18.2-366 by having sexual relations with his daughter who was at the time between the ages of 13 and 18.”
Couch v. Jabe, 737 F. Supp. 2d 561 (W.D. Va. 2010). · cites it 3× “This clause of the regulation would ban any book describing rape, 5 statutory rape, 6 attempted rape, 7 incest (Va. Code § 18.2-366), 8 adultery (Va. Code § 18.”
Commonwealth v. Rahim, 805 N.E.2d 13 (Mass. 2004). “13, § 205 (Lexis 1998); Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-366 (Michie 1996); Va.”
Chaine v. Commonwealth, 436 S.E.2d 187 (Va. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 2× “1, incest, Code § 18.2-366, and carnal knowledge by a parent with a child between the ages of thirteen and fifteen, Code § 18.”
Michael Dwayne Ferguson v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 68× “Appellant Michael Dwayne Ferguson pled guilty to committing incest by having sexual intercourse with his eighteen-year-old stepdaughter in violation of Code § 18.2-366. With the consent of the Commonwealth and the approval of the circuit court, he conditioned his guilty plea on…”
Nowlin v. Commonwealth, 579 S.E.2d 367 (Va. Ct. App. 2003). “2-361) involving a minor as a victim and provided the defendant and the victim are not married to each other, incest (§ 18.2-366), or abuse of children (§§ 18.”
Wolfe v. Commonwealth, 554 S.E.2d 695 (Va. Ct. App. 2001). “e case of a prosecution for an offense committed by one against the other or against a minor child of either, (ii) in any case where either is charged with forgery of the name of the other or uttering or attempting to utter a writing bearing the allegedly forged signature of the…”
Dotson v. Hylton, 513 S.E.2d 901 (Va. Ct. App. 1999). “2-61 or subsection B of § 18.2-366 when the child who is the subject of the petition was conceived as a result of such violation.”
Livingston v. Commonwealth, 466 S.E.2d 757 (Va. Ct. App. 1996). “2-61 through 18.2-67.10), crimes against nature (§ 18.”
Show all 30 citing cases →
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-366(B) — 5 cases
Michael Dwayne Ferguson v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2020). “Appellant Michael Dwayne Ferguson pled guilty to committing incest by having sexual intercourse with his eighteen-year-old stepdaughter in violation of Code § 18.2-366. With the consent of the Commonwealth and the approval of the circuit court, he conditioned his guilty plea on…”
Ray Allen Atkins v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2025).
James Michael Greason v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2023).
Patrick Brian Stambler v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2026).
Mortie J. Dowdy v. Commonwealth (Va. Ct. App. 2003).
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-366(C) — 1 case
Michael Dwayne Ferguson v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2020). “Appellant Michael Dwayne Ferguson pled guilty to committing incest by having sexual intercourse with his eighteen-year-old stepdaughter in violation of Code § 18.2-366. With the consent of the Commonwealth and the approval of the circuit court, he conditioned his guilty plea on…”
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