Brief Fact Summary. Defendant was accused of rape and kidnapping his former girlfriend. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss on both charges for failure of the state to demonstrate substantial evidence with respect to both charges.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. To support a charge of rape, the state must demonstrate either constructive or actual force without legal consent by the victim.
If the evidence is sufficient only to raise a suspicion or conjecture as to either the commission of the offense or the identity of the defendant as the perpetrator of it, the motion should be allowed.
View Full Point of LawIssue. Whether substantial evidence was introduced of each element of the offenses charged and that Defendant was the perpetrator.
Held. Reversed, the state has not shown substantial evidence of actual or constructive force to support a charge of rape.
There was no substantial evidence of forcible confinement, restrain or removal for the purpose of committing rape to support a charge of kidnapping.
A Defendant can be guilty of raping even his mistress because consent to sexual intercourse freely given can be withdrawn at any time prior to penetration.
Evidence of physical resistance by the victim is not necessary to prove lack of consent in a rape case.
Discussion. The Court analyzed each element of the crime of rape. Specifically, the Court focused on the use or threat of force and whether or not the victim consented to sexual intercourse. What was missing from the analysis was that the victim in this case had physical altercations with Defendant in the past. The Court appeared unwilling to credit the victim’s past experience of violence by Defendant to the specific act of sexual intercourse at question.