The authorities in every state agree that minors cannot legally consent to sexual activity, and therefore any sexual activity between an adult and a minor is statutory rape. Beyond that baseline however, the states vary widely in how their laws deal with the issues involved, and sometimes these laws change over time.

What may be the first crime committed in space is under investigation. Federal authorities are investigating whether US Army astronaut Lt. Col. Anne McClain committed federal fraud charges for accessing her estranged wife's bank account during McClain's six-month tour on the International Space Station.

Police officers were called to Pewaukee High School in southeast Wisconsin at least once a week over the last few years because of alleged "sexting" among students. However, the state does not have laws addressing these types of sex offenses and, as a result, the Village of Pewaukee adopted an ordinance to combat this behavior.

Sexual assault charges are usually pursued in a criminal trial court. But, as colleges deal more with sexual assault or harassment allegations, a legal defense against sex offenses must go beyond criminal law. Charges against a high-profile former Wisconsin Badgers football player has involved Title IX and campus legal procedures.

The growing interconnectivity in our economy and new technology has led to expanded federal law enforcement activities. The Federal Reserve recently issued a whitepaper discussing synthetic identify fraud and identified it as the most rapidly growing type of crime in the United States.