Marital Rape and the Laws Against the Crime
Marital Rape and the Laws Against the Crime
The feminist movement has produced many societal transformations, as well as legal changes. One of the most important legal changes dealt with marital or spousal rape. Only a few decades ago, in the eyes of the law, a spouse could rape their husband or wife and not face a rape charge and trial. However, much has changed, with the law allowing for victims of marital rape to come forward and seek criminal justice. Parties involved in a marital rape case should immediately go to the police and hire a trusted criminal attorney.
How Marital Rape Occurs
In the state of California, marital rape is equivalent to rape. A perpetrator who commits marital rape in this state does not face substantially different penalties; however, the law does take into consideration the means used to commit this specific crime. The prosecution can prove that marital rape occurred as a result of a lack of consent, inability to resist due to intoxication, being unconscious during the act, threatened into rape, or forced into it due to threats coming from a public official. Furthermore, the prosecutor will have to show that the victim and the defendant were married at the time, the victim did not consent to have sexual intercourse, and that intercourse did occur.
Penalties for the Crime
Marital rape is a very serious offense and a conviction will result in a felony. Those who are found guilty can serve up to eight years in a state prison but can face an even longer sentence if great bodily injured occurred as a result of the rape. Most importantly, the guilty party is forced to register, for a lifetime, as a sex offender. The registration must be kept for the lifetime of the perpetrator.
