Boy, 14, faces life on sex offenders register after arrest over sex with 12-year-old girlfriend

The teenager's lawyer said: "Because he was 14 by two months, they want to ruin his life."

The young couple were one school year apart (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A 14-year-old boy could be registered sex offender for life after being arrested over his relationship with his 12-year-old girlfriend, his lawyer has warned.

The teenager from Harris County, Texas has been charged with aggravated sexual assault after having consensual sex with the girl, who was a year below him at school.

The boy's mother said she feared her son will be classed alongside paedophiles and rapists, a prospect she described as "sick".

She added: "He had consensual sex with his little girlfriend and he loved her. They were boyfriend-girlfriend. And because he turned 14, they want to make him a sex offender, put him on the registry with paedophiles and child molesters - really sick and dangerous people."

He faces the charges despite a legal defence, sometimes known as a "Romeo and Juliet" rule, that allows some juveniles to have sex with someone within three years of their age.

The exemption does not apply if one of the parties is under the age of 14.

Joseph Gutheinz, the boy's lawyer, told the Houston Chronicle: "The idea that a 14-year-old who has sex with a person just a little bit younger then him or her would be treated as the worst of the worst in our society and placed on the sex offender registry is really sick."

The attorney, who spoke on the condition his client was not identified, said the boy's family were "going through hell".

He said the teen would not have faced charges if he was 13, adding: "Because he was 14 by two months, they want to ruin his life. What kind of life is he going to have if he's a sex offender?"

The Harris County District Attorney's Office did not respond to requests for a comment.

But experts said the case could be dismissed if the boy's lawyers can prove the sex was consensual.

Jackie Stewart Gravois, an attorney with the Harris County Public Defender's Office, added: "That's going to be up to the discretion of the prosecutor."