Rape is one of the many criminal offenses under the classification of felony crimes. It is also known as first degree sexual assault in some states of the legal system. When it comes to defining this classification of crime, rape has a clear definition, but can become complicated while being processed in the criminal law system, due to the extremely private nature of the crime. This said, we define the crime as it is defined in the legal system, analyze the parameters of the different rape charges, and examine how these criminal charges of rape affect the search for criminal records.
The first step in analyzing how these charges fit into the organization of the legal penal system is to represent the offense with the best workable definition. Rape is the act of “nonconsensual sexual intercourse that is committed by physical force, threat or injury, or other duress”. While the standard definition offers a pretty clear cut definition of what constitutes rape, there are also instances in which other circumstances are necessarily included in the definition of rape and its related charges.
The first of these circumstances included in these charges is when the victim is still considered a child-in many states, this refers to below the age of 18, and is termed the age of consent, and is involved in sexual intercourse with another person above this legal age of consent. Whether or not the victim has consented to the act of sexual intercourse is of no value, as they are still considered at an age of vulnerability when they are not old enough to make their own informed decisions, and victim of said charges. In this case, the elder of the two individuals is charged with taking advantage of the victim’s vulnerability and can be charged with what is called “statutory rape”.
The second of these types of rape charges is characterized by the victim’s inability to make their own decision as to whether they want to involve themselves in sexual intercourse with the other party. This is due to the use of drugs or alcohol, in which the criminal has deliberately and without the victim’s knowledge impaired the victim’s ability to choose in this regard. The most common illegal means of impairing the victim’s judgment in this manner is to drug the victim with a drug called “rohypnol” or another-which not only impairs the victim’s ability to choose, but in many cases, impairs their ability to move-rendering them unconscious and susceptible to the criminal’s advances of rape. In most incidences of rape, the victim already is acquainted with the criminal-which has coined a new term in the legal system, “date rape” charges.
As is true of all felonies-and offenses in general-each state is given governance over how a rape crime should be viewed, defined, and punished accordingly. This can certainly influence how the crime is processed and therefore how it is administered into the offender’s criminal record. As noted previously, a rape that might be considered the serious definition of rape in one state, is easily accepted as a less serious matter in another state-therefore referred to as first degree sexual assault. While both may point to felonious charges, each state characterizes how rape is listed in a person’s criminal record for posterity.