Rape

A rape crime refers to any non-consensual sexual intercourse, which is committed by the threat of injury, physical force, or other duress.

The common law defined rape as any unlawful intercourse done by a man against a woman who was not his wife by use of force and threats against her will. However, most states realized the shortcoming of this narrowly defined interpretation and refined their own by broadening their statutory definition of rape making gender, marriage, and force not relevant.

A lack of consent may include a victim’s inability to refuse intercourse because of the effects of alcohol or drugs. This protects any victims who are raped but were not in a state of mind to verbally or physically refuse the act. Moreover, rape can also occur even when the victim and offender have a pre-existing relationship, which is sometimes referred to as date rape, or even when the victim is the offender’s spouse.

Some form of sexual penetration between the offender and victim, however slight, must occur to convict the former for rape. Each instance of penetration can, further, serve as a rape count.

Forcible rape is the most common form of sexual abuse that occurs in the United States. It occurs when an offender uses threats of violence or violence to force their victim into sexual intercourse. However, rape can happen in various other forms such as posing as a law officer or public official and threatening to punish or arrest the victim if they do not submit to sexual intercourse.

Statutory rape refers to any sexual relations that involve someone who is below the age of consent. This is because individuals who are below a state’s age of consent can’t legally consent to have sex. Ergo, by definition, having sex with such an individual violates the law.

Statutory rape laws vary according to the individual states, which set their age of consent differently. They, further, use different names to refer to statutory rape. In fact, many states punish this crime under laws that address rape, sexual assault, carnal knowledge of a child, or even unlawful sexual intercourse. Very few federal laws deal with statutory rape.

1. Age of Consent

The age of consent typically varies from state to state. Most states have set their age of consent at 16 years old, yet others have set it at 18 or 17.

Statutory rape has always been considered a strict liability offense, which means that it doesn’t matter whether the perpetrator believed their victim was old enough to give legal consent to sex. This created a problem in that there arose situations whereby some perpetrators:

• Had no reason to believe that their victim was underage
• Were lied to by the victim
• Were duped into believing that the victim was over the age of consent

As a result, some states, presently, allow the defense that a perpetrator had enough reason to, and did actually believe, that the minor they had sexual intercourse with was over the age of consent. However, in the states that allow this defense, it cannot be used in cases where the minor is particularly young, often under the age of 14.

Despite these developments, most states still don’t allow the defense that the perpetrator believed their victim was over the age of consent. In these states, the act is considered a crime regardless of what a perpetrator believed their victim’s age was.

2. No Requirement of Force

Statutory rape differs from child molestation and other forms of sexual abuse in that the act itself would not be considered a crime if the participants were all above the age of consent. This means that statutory rape can occur even when the underage participants willingly engaged in sexual relations.

However, since individuals below the age of consent cannot legally give their consent to sex, the act becomes a crime irrespective of whether or not force was involved. If your child or relative below the consent age of sex is involved in a sexual abuse situation, you can take legal recourse against the offender.

If a sexual act with an individual below the consent age involves coercion or force, many states prosecute the offender(s) under separate statutes used to punish aggravated rape or child molestation.

3. Professionals Required to Report Cases

Some states require some professional classes to report any suspicion or knowledge of statutory rape to the authorities. These include teachers, public employees, the clergy, and medical professionals, among others.

Factors that Affect Statutory Rape’s Charges, Level of Offense, and Penalties

1. A Spectrum of Offenses

Laws used to punish statutory rape include a spectrum of offenses that range from high-level felonies to misdemeanors. These include:

• The victim’s age
• The age difference between perpetrator and victim
• Prior sex offenses that were committed by the perpetrator
• The involvement of drugs and alcohol in the crime
• Other resultant effects such as pregnancy

The first two are the primary factors that typically affect statutory rape’s level of offense as well as the subsequent charges. For example, some states consider any sexual relations with an individual below the ages of 12 or 14 a first-degree felony. Whereas, sex with an older individual who is below the consent age is either considered a lower level felony of a misdemeanor. Still, in other states, any statutory rape act constitutes a felony carrying serious or sometimes mandatory jail sentences.

2. State-Specific Calculation Methods

The United States has no uniform laws that apply to statutory rape cases. Instead, states set their laws and use different calculation methods to classify levels of offense. They use multiple factors to calculate their range of statutory rape offenses including a broad range of charges.

You may find that some states decide to impose harsher penalties if an offender is older than their victim by a certain number of years. Other states treat the act as a higher offense using only the age of the offender (say over 21 years old).

Punishment for a statutory rape charge can include mandatory jail or prison terms, mandated treatment services, probation, or fines. Furthermore, many states require everybody convicted of a statutory rape offense to register themselves as sex offenders.

3. Romeo and Juliet Laws

The Romeo and Juliet Laws were enacted to address statutory rape cases where the participants are all below the consent age or that involve an offender who is close in age to their victim. These laws treat statutory rape offenses that involve individuals close in age differently from those with a more significant age gap.

Despite these developments, not all states have adopted the Romeo and Juliet Laws. What’s more, these laws are not uniform instead they operate differently in the states that have chosen to adopt them. You will find that in some states:

• A defense against statutory rape criminal charges is allowed
• The offense is shifted to a lower level, for example, a misdemeanor
• The laws have reduced the punishment level meted out to offenders such as the imposition of probation only
• The requirement to register as sex offenders is eliminated

In many cases, a rape crime is charged as a state violation. Ergo, if you are accused of rape, you will most likely face state-level crime charges and tried in a local court system. However, sometimes a rape offense can fall under federal jurisdiction or be a violation of both federal and state law.

You face federal rape crime charges if there is evidence that you:

• Crossed state lines in or during the commission of the offense
• Committed the rape offense inside the District of Columbia
• Committed the act in international waters
• Committed the rape on federal property such as a national park, federal prison, or government office building
• Were investigated and later arrested by a federal agency
• Committed the act against a federal official, consul, ambassador, or foreign officials who are under the protection of the United States government

According to statute 18 U.S.C. §2242, you can be charged with committing rape if you:

• Caused someone to engage in any sexual act by placing them in fear or used threats
• Engaged in any sexual act with someone who is not capable of assessing the nature of the action or is physically incapable of communicating their unwillingness or declining their participation
• Attempted to cause any of the above actions

For this federal statute to be used, you must have committed the actions above while in the territorial jurisdiction and special maritime of the United States, or in either a federal institution or any other facility that holds people in custody.

If you are charged and convicted of rape or any other sexual abuse offense under this federal statute, you face a harsh penalty of up to life in prison. Also, there are other federal statutes regarding aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a child, and abusive sexual contact that also carry life sentences upon conviction.

Whether you stand accused of rape or have been charged under state or federal law, you need the professional aid of an experienced criminal defense attorney who knows their way around any courtroom. The attorney can use their skill and resources to review your case, examine all the evidence brought against you piece by piece, and come up with the strongest defense possible under the law.

Since the most common defense against rape is that the other individual consented to the act, it is one of the tools used during your defense. However, consent is an issue that is not always clear-cut. If you are the victim of a rape incident, you will need to prove that you did not give consent to the offender, failure to which a conviction may be hard to get. Your case will be determined and decided by facts that the government can establish. However, if you are the defendant, you are also entitled to establish the facts. That is the primary job of your legal team.

In the case of a mistaken identity where you have been wrongfully accused of a crime that someone else did, your attorney will be able to prove that you were wrongly identified and that you have an alibi.

Being wrongfully accused of a rape crime is both embarrassing and horrifying. It is an allegation that can quickly ruin your career, reputation, and tear apart your family. It can, further, cause your family and friends to doubt you and break years of trust. It is your right to hire a lawyer and aggressively defend against the charges in court.

Statutory rape is considered a state sex crime that can either be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony offense. It is punishable by incarceration, probation, registry as a sex offender, or a fine depending on the circumstances of the incident and the state. A good criminal defense attorney can either get you acquitted of all the charges or reduce them to a misdemeanor without the option of registering as a sex offender.