NCJ Number
244033
Date Published
February 2012
Length
461 pages
Annotation
This report presents provisions of rape and sexual assault laws in the 50 States, U.S. Territories, U.S. Military, and Federal jurisdictions.
Abstract
Included in the scope of the laws are sexual abuse, misconduct, or battery, as well as marital rape and sexual assault in the context of domestic violence. All of the laws reviewed pertain to sexual crimes against adults, with the exception of the section of the report that pertains to the capacity-to-consent statutes, which discusses age. Charts summarize the rape and sexual assault laws for the jurisdictions examined. Each chart focuses on a specific element of the crime with subcategories of each element also addressed; for example, the element of penetration includes subcategories of vaginal penetration, anal penetration, oral penetration, and various types of penetration with an object. In addition to penetration, elements of the sexual act proscribed are force, capacity to consent, and victim-perpetrator relationship, as well as categories of other sex crimes. Charts include each jurisdiction's statutory citations that are relevant to the sexual acts being examined. In addition to examining statutory provisions that pertain to the aforementioned element of rape and sexual assault, other section of this report analyze statutory provisions regarding the nature of consent to sexual acts, alcohol or drug facilitated sexual assault, marital rape (with a note on "silent statutes"), sexual acts that involve a same-sex perpetrator, and statutory sexual assault defined by the victim-perpetrator age difference. Another section of the report focuses on statutory provisions regarding "constructive force," which refers to the perpetrator's use of the threat of force, death, or some other adverse consequence if the victim does not comply with the perpetrator's sexual demands. Appendixes analyze issues inherent to rape and sexual assault crimes that may arise in the course of a prosecution.