SEXUAL OFFENSES:

1. SEXUAL OFFENSES: BACKGROUND, CAUSES AND PREVENTION

2. SEXUAL OFFENSES • RAPE, STATUTORY RAPE, SPOUSAL RAPE, etc… • These offenses fall under the larger category of Crimes again the Person • Statistical Background: • On a given day in 1994 there were approximately 234,000 offenders convicted of rape or sexual assault under the care, custody, or control of corrections agencies; nearly 60% of these sex offenders are under conditional supervision in the community. • The median age of the victims of imprisoned sexual assaulters was less than 13 years old; the median age of rape victims was about 22 years. • An estimated 24% of those serving time for rape and 19% of those serving time for sexual assault had been on probation or parole at the time of the offense for which they were in State prison in 1991.

3. SEXUAL OFFENSES • STATISTICS CONTINUED: • Of the 9,691 male sex offenders released from prisons in 15 States in 1994, 5.3% were rearrested for a new sex crime within 3 years of release. • Of released sex offenders who allegedly committed another sex crime, 40% perpetrated the new offense within a year or less from their prison discharge. • For both 1994 and 1995 the percentage of rape/sexual assault victimizations reported to a law enforcement agency was 32%. • The most common reason given for reporting the crime = to prevent further crimes by the offender against them. • The most common reason for not reporting = it was considered a personal matter.

4. SEXUAL OFFENSES • STATISTICS CONTINUED: • Overall, an estimated 91% of the victims of rape and sexual assault were female. Nearly 99% of the offenders they described in single-victim incidents were male. • CHARACTERISTICS OF RAPE/SEXUAL ASSAULT INCIDENTS: • About 2/3s of rapes/sexual assaults were found to occur during the 12 hours from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. • Nearly 6 out of 10 rape/sexual assault incidents were reported by victims to have occurred in their own home or at the home of a friend, relative or neighbor.

5. SEXUAL OFFENSES • CHARACTERISTICS OF RAPE/SEXUAL ASSAULT INCIDENTS (CONTINUED): • More than ½ of rape/sexual assault incidents were reported by victims to have occurred within 1 mile of their home or at their home. • About 1 of every 16 rape/sexual assault victims reported that a firearm was present during the commission of the offense. Most victims (84%), however, reported that no weapon was used by the offender.

6. SEXUAL OFFENSES • CHARACTERISTICS OF RAPE/SEXUAL ASSAULT OFFENDERS AS DESCRIBED BY THEIR VICTIMS: • About 9 out of 10 rape/sexual assault victimizations involved a single offender, according to victims’ reports. • 75% of rape/sexual assault victimizations involved offenders with whom the victim had a prior relationship as a family member, intimate, or acquaintance. • Strangers accounted for nearly 20% of the victimizations. • About 4 in 10 rape/sexual assault incidents involved offenders who were age 30 or older, according to the victims. About ¼ of the incidents involved offenders under the age of 21.

7. SEXUAL OFFENSES • CONSEQUENCES OF THE RAPE/SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMIZATION: • 7 out of 10 victims of rape/sexual assault reported that they took some form of self-protective action during the crime. • Most common form of self-defense was to resist by struggling or to chase and try to hold the offender. • Just over ½ felt that their actions helped the situation. About 1 in every 5 victims felt that their actions either made the situation worse or simultaneously helped and worsened the situation. • 87% of recorded forcible rapes were completed crimes and the remainder were classified as attempts. About 8% of forcible rapes reported were determined to be unfounded. • Statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics – Sex Offenses & Offenders

8. SEXUAL OFFENSES • RAPE: • The unlawful carnal knowledge (i.e. sexual intercourse) of a woman by a man without her effective consent. • At Common Law, the woman must NOT have been married to the man who committed the act. • Today, however, all 50 states and federal territories have passed laws that make SPOUSAL RAPE a crime. • Generally, penetration is sufficient to complete the crime and emission is not necessary. • Lack of Effective Consent: the intercourse must be WITHOUT the victim’s effective consent. Consent, even if given, may be ineffective in several way

9. SEXUAL OFFENSES • Lack of Effective Consent: • Intercourse accomplished by force – no question of consent is raised • Intercourse accomplished by threat – if accomplished by placing victim in fear of great and immediate bodily harm = rape. Any consent obtained by threats is ineffective • Woman incapable of consenting – if the victim is incapable of consenting then the intercourse = rape • Examples: unconscious, intoxicated or victim’s mental condition. • STATUTORY RAPE: • Victim below age of consent • The crime of carnal knowledge of a child under the age of consent. Consent is irrelevant as long as child is under age.

10. SEXUAL OFFENSES • STATUTORY RAPE (continued) • Mistake as to age • Statutory Rape is a strict liability crime – therefore mistake (even if reasonable) as to age does not matter.