Rape

California law treats rape as a very serious felony. If convicted, you could spend years in state prison and have to register for life as a sex offender. These are not light penalties especially to defendants who are victims of false accusation or a misunderstanding. When you are facing rape or related sexual charges in Los Angeles, you can reach out to the LA Criminal Defense Attorney. We have a great record of success in helping residents all over Los Angeles to fight rape allegations. Our attorneys are well versed with rape laws and will do all it takes to get your charges dismissed or penalties reduced.

How Does California Law Define Rape?

California defines rape as sexual intercourse which occurs without the consent of one of the parties and is accomplished by use of force, violence, fraud or threat. Additionally, if you engage in sexual intercourse with a person who is incapable of consenting, has a mental disorder or is unconscious, you will be committing rape (Penal Code 261). Rape occurs when:

1. The parties were not married at the time of the intercourse. If they were, it would be charged under Penal Code 262 (spousal rape)
2. One of the parties did not give consent to the act of sexual intercourse
3. The victim was not aware that sexual intercourse was taking place, i.e. he/she was unconscious or asleep
4. The defendant accomplished vaginal or genitalia penetration by use of fear, threats, physical force, duress, intimidation, menace or violence
5. The victim did not have the capability to consent, i.e. he/she was intoxicated, is physically disabled or there was a developmental delay
6. The victim consented to the act for fear of bodily injury or injury to another person
7. The defendant used false representation to induce the intercourse

Sexual intercourse is any type of vaginal or genitalia penetration by a penis, no matter how slight, for the purpose of sexual satisfaction. Consent, on the other hand, means that a person is acting freely, voluntarily and understands the nature of the action. The age of consent in Los Angeles is 18 years. For instance, Candace is mentally ill and Eddy tricks her into sexual intercourse as a new game he invented. He then achieves vaginal penetration without Candace’s objection. In this case, Candace consented because she did not understand the nature of Eddy’s actions. Therefore, Eddy is most likely to be accused of rape.

A person may change his/her consent during sexual intercourse. If this happens, the continued act becomes rape. However, it only becomes rape if;

1. The victim told the defendant that s/he objected the sexual intercourse and tried to stop the act
2. The objection of the victim was communicated through acts or words that any reasonable person would have understood as showing the withdrawal of consent
3. The defendant continued with the sexual intercourse by force despite the victim’s objection

For example, Damien fights with his girlfriend. Feeling upset, he goes out to get himself drunk. He meets his longtime friend, Ashley, at the bar. They have a little chat and Damien feels like Ashley is making him happy again. He invites Ashley to his house and they start having sexual intercourse. Shortly after they begin, Damien feels guilty of betraying her girlfriend and begs to stop while trying to get away from Ashley. She overpowers him and wants him to continue the act by force. Ashley will be accused of rape because Damien had withdrawn his consent.

Note that if the defendant raped the victim, stopped and then started again after some time s/he can be convicted of multiple rapes. Rape laws apply both to men and women. In addition, helping one party to rape another is also punishable under the law. You can be charged with aiding and abetting rape and the penalties are the same as those of rape.

Legal Defenses for a Rape Charge

The most common legal defense you can apply is consent. If your attorney can establish that the victim consented to sexual intercourse and you did not in any way violate his/her will, the prosecutor may be incapable of proving the other elements of rape. However, consent is a debatable defense and there may be a need to provide evidence of the victim’s sexual history. If the victim is a child or mentally incapacitated, consent cannot be used as a defense. Other defenses include:

1. False accusation

It is possible that you can be accused of rape out of jealousy, anger, revenge or false identification. Additionally, a rape case may rely entirely on the testimony of the victim which means s/he may be biased. An experienced attorney can successfully challenge false accusations and prove your innocence. One of the approaches an attorney can use is re-interviewing the victim to see if their testimony remains consistent or challenging the witness during cross-examination. A knowledgeable attorney can easily point out the inconsistencies in the victim’s story.

2. Inadequate Evidence

A rape victim may not have sought medical attention after the act. This means that there may not be physical evidence to corroborate the rape claim. Also, if no one witnessed or heard the victim being raped, the testimony could be based on hearsay. Under this circumstance, your attorney can apply this legal defense. A prosecutor will find it hard to prove a rape allegation if the only evidence is the unsupported testimony of the victim.

3. A Mistake in eyewitness identification

You could be wrongfully accused of rape because an eyewitness mistook you for someone else. This is common in Los Angeles. It is possible for a victim to be mistaken in identifying the perpetrator of the offense especially if the victim did not see or doesn’t know the person. Mistaken identification can be due to the assailant wearing face masks or poor lighting.

4. There was no sexual intercourse

For it to qualify to be rape, there must be sexual intercourse between the parties involved and the prosecutor must prove this beyond doubt. Your defense attorney can, therefore, argue that the sexual activities that you participated in were not actual intercourse.

5. Actual and reasonable belief in consent

The victim may not have consented to the intercourse but if you actually and reasonably believed that s/he had consented, you will not be convicted of rape. This is a valid defense as long as your defense attorney can successfully argue that you actually and reasonably believed the victim consented throughout the act.

Related Offenses to Rape

There are a number of sex crimes that relate to a rape crime under the law of the state of California. Just like rape, these offenses happen against the victim’s will or without their consent. They include;

1. Spousal Rape (Penal Code 262)

California law provides the possibility of a spouse to sue his/her partner for rape. Spousal rape is a similar offense to rape except for one aspect; the victim and the defendant have to be married. This is considered a serious felony and its penalties are just as harsh as those of rape. Marital rape is also considered under the law as a form of domestic violence. This means that if you are convicted of this offense, you may face penalties of rape under Penal Code 261 as well as those of domestic violence. Potential punishments for spousal rape include 3, 6 or 8 years imprisonment in state prison. In some cases, it might be obligatory for the defendant to register as a sex offender. The legal defenses for spousal rape are similar to those of rape.

2. Statutory Rape (Penal Code 261.5)

Statutory rape is when one engages in sexual intercourse with a person below 18 years. It is otherwise referred to unlawful sex with a minor. Once you have sex with a minor, you have committed statutory rape regardless of whether the minor consented or initiated the act.

This is a wobbler offense. It can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the circumstances surrounding the case. One of the most important factors to determine this case is the age difference between the defendant and the victim. The penalties will be harsh in cases where the victim is below 16 years old and the defendant is 21 years old and above. Under this scenario, the penalty could include 4 years’ imprisonment in state prison. Legal defenses to this charge include an honest and reasonable belief that the victim was above 18 years old and proof that no actual sexual intercourse occurred.

3. Forceful Oral Copulation (Penal Code 288a)

Forceful oral copulation is when one person’s mouth makes contact with another person’s genitalia without consent. Just like rape, this is illegal if it resulted from fear, force, violence, intimidation, menace, duress or if one of the parties was asleep, unconscious, intoxicated or in any situation not to give consent. This is a felony under California law and is punishable by 3, 6 or 8 years imprisonment in state prison, a maximum fine of $10,000 or both. However, if the victim is below 18 years, there will be a sentence enhancement to 6, 8 or 10 years imprisonment in state prison if the victim is 14 years old and above and to 8, 10 or 12 years imprisonment if the victim is below 14 years old. In addition to these penalties, the defendant may be required to register as a level-three lifetime sexual offender. Legal defenses or oral copulation by force may be similar to those of rape.

4. Date Rape/ Acquaintance Rape (Penal Code 261)

This is sexual intercourse that happens between two parties who willingly spend time together or who are or were courting. This is similar to rape and carries similar consequences. Like other rape cases, it is possible for one party to make false accusations against the other due to anger or on the allegations of cheating, negligence or rejection.

5. Forcible Penetration with a Foreign Object (Penal Code 289)

This is also known as forcible sexual penetration the defendant is guilty only if;

• S/he committed a sexual penetration act with another party
• S/he accomplished the penetration by use of an unknown or foreign object
• S/he achieved the penetration without the consent of the other party
• The act resulted from violence, threat, force, duress, menace, threat to retaliate etc.

The defendant can also be found guilty of this offense if;

• S/he committed an act of sexual penetration on a victim who was incapable of consenting due to a mental illness or physical disability
• S/he committed the act on a victim who did not understand the nature of the action
• S/he committed the act on a victim who was asleep or intoxicated

The law classifies this as a felony and it is punishable by 3, 6 or 8 years imprisonment in state prison, a maximum fine of $10,000 or both. In most cases, the defendant will be required to register as a level-three lifetime sexual offender. Legal defenses include false accusation, consent of the victim to carry out the act and actual and reasonable belief.

6. Sexual Battery (Penal Code 243.4)

Sexual battery refers to touching another person’s intimate parts without their consent in order to achieve sexual pleasure, arousal or if you are abusing the party. This is not an act of actual intercourse thus it is often treated as a form of a sexual assault case. This crime can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the circumstances under which it was committed.

7. Attempted Rape (Penal Code 663)

This is a lesser offense compared to rape because actual rape was not committed. It is considered an offense because the defendant had all the intentions to commit rape and had taken significant steps towards the commission of that crime. The penalty for attempted rape in most cases is half the sentence of an actual crime.

8. Lustful or lascivious acts with a minor (Penal Code 288)

One is said to have committed this crime when they touch a minor who is 15 years or below on their bodies to achieve sexual satisfaction. It can either be a felony or a misdemeanor depending on the circumstances of the crime, the age of the minor and the defendant’s relationship to the minor. If you are facing rape charges of a minor below 15 years old, chances are you will also face lewd or lascivious acts charges.