When accused of sex crimes based on the age of the victim, you may not use the excuse of mistaking the victim’s true age or the victim’s consent to the sexual contact as a defense. A person convicted of Criminal Sexual Conduct is required to register with an assigned agent or local law enforcement shortly after a conviction or release from prison. Disclosed information may include addresses, a list of all property owned, employment, and any vehicles they own or operate. This information is then reported to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and may be made available to the public.
The term Criminal Sexual Conduct usually refers to an attack on a person that is sexual in nature. The legal definition of this term actually differs, however, from state to state. In some states, sexual assault is synonymous with rape forced sexual intercourse or sexual contact without consent while other states have no crime known as sexual assault and instead define sexual conduct without consent as rape, criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contact and sexual battery.
Most states criminalize sexual conduct that does not include penetration, oral sex or sodomy, but that is conduct that is sexual in nature and occurs without the other person’s consent. This conduct usually is referred to as sexual battery or criminal sexual contact. A common definition for sexual battery is touching of an intimate part of the body clothed or unclothed, depending on the state for the purpose of sexual arousal or pleasure, without the other person’s consent; or forcing another person to touch an intimate part of the offender’s body.
Lack of consent is the crucial component of sex crimes. Sexual conduct becomes criminal when sexual touch is not consented to, either because the offender forces another person to be sexual against his or her will, or because the other person is considered incapable of consenting or has a diminished capacity to consent.
States generally criminalize sex with a minor under the age of fourteen or fifteen, a developmentally disabled person, someone who is mentally ill, or a person who is incapacitated drugged, drunk or unconscious or otherwise physically helpless. When sexual contact is with a developmentally disabled or mentally ill person, the issue of consent may be whether the person had the capacity to knowingly consent to sexual contact.
Many states have divided the crime of rape into degrees, like rape in the first and second degree. The charge will depend on the type of force used, whether the sexual assault resulted in serious bodily injury, or whether it was committed with a deadly weapon, such as a rape at gun point. Possible sentences can range from one year to even life in prison, depending on the provisions of each state’s sentencing statute or sentencing guidelines. Some states require a minimum prison sentence or require the court to impose a prison sentence without probation or early parole.
In other states, the judge may have some discretion on the length of the sentence and whether to allow the defendant to serve any portion of the sentence on probation rather than in prison.
