I was reading in the newspaper today that a 22 year old British teacher has been given a suspended sentence - and been put on the sex-offenders' register - for having sex - which was consensual - with a 16 year old pupil at her school. Her union is up in arms about this, saying that the way things are worded at the moment, she could also be prosecuted for having sex with an 18 year old at the school where she works.( And, I would add, surely college professors are teachers ). Where does the general law stand at the moment in the UK - and the USA - with regards to the "age of consent" and sexual relations. I always understood that, in the UK, sixteen was the age of consent i.e. a person could not be prosecuted for having consensual sex with someone 16 and over.