Homestead Sex Crimes Lawyer

Federal rape and sexual assault laws

Federal law defines rape in five different ways. A defendant may be convicted in federal court on a rape charge if he or she commits a sexual act against someone else under any of the following circumstances:

• by using unlawful force against the other person
• by using force that causes or is likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm to any person
• by threatening or placing the other person in fear that any person will be subjected to death, grievous bodily harm, or kidnapping
• by first rendering the other party unconscious
• by administering to the other person by force or threat of force, without the knowledge or consent of the other person, a drug, intoxicant, or similar substance and thereby substantially impairing the ability of the other person to appraise or control conduct

The federal rape statute focuses on the defendant’s use of force or a threat that causes serious bodily harm or places the victim in fear of serious harm or kidnapping. Another key element in the federal rape law is the requirement that the prosecution prove in cases in which the defendant took advantage of the victim’s drugged or intoxicated mental state that the defendant caused the drugging or intoxication. If the defendant’s conduct toward the victim does not meet the standard described in the federal rape statute, the offense may be sexual assault under federal law.

FEDERAL SEXUAL ASSAULT STATUTE

Rape and sexual assault are often referred to interchangeably. Under federal law, a defendant may be convicted on a charge of sexual assault under any of the following conditions:

• if the defendant commits a sexual act on someone else by threatening or placing the other person in fear
• if the defendant commits a sexual act on someone else by making a fraudulent representation that the sexual act serves a professional purpose
• if the defendant commits a sexual act on someone else by inducing a belief by any artifice, pretense, or concealment that the offender is another person
• if the defendant commits a sexual act on someone else without the other person’s consent
• If the defendant commits a sexual act on someone else when the defendant knows or reasonably should know that the other person is asleep, unconscious, or otherwise unaware that the sexual act is occurring
• If the defendant commits a sexual act on someone else when the other person is incapable of consenting to the sexual act due to impairment by any drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance, and that condition is known or reasonably should be known by the defendant
• If the defendant commits a sexual act on someone else when the other person has a mental disease or disorder or physical disability, and that condition is known or reasonably should be known by the defendant

Where the federal rape statute requires a prosecutor to prove the defendant’s use of force or a threat meets a certain standard or that the defendant caused the victim to be intoxicated, the federal sexual assault statute only requires the prosecution to prove the defendant’s general use of threat that causes fear. The defendant may be convicted for sexual assault if he or she takes advantage of the victim’s mental or physical condition even if the defendant did not cause the condition. The victim’s lack of consent also meets the definition of sexual assault in the absence of the use of a threat, fraud or deception, or the use of force.

AGGRAVATED SEXUAL CONTACT AND ABUSIVE SEXUAL CONTACT UNDER FEDERAL LAW

Aggravated sexual contact and abusive sexual contact differ from rape and sexual assault in that rape and sexual assault are based on the commission of a sexual act, whereas aggravated sexual contact and abusive sexual contact are based on the commission of sexual contact.

Federal law defines sexual contact as touching or causing the other person to touch, directly or through clothing, the vulva, penis, scrotum, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person with the intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade any person or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. In contrast, a sexual act is defined under federal law as any of the following:

• any degree of penetration of the penis into the vulva, anus, or mouth
• contact between the mouth and the penis, vulva, scrotum, or anus
• any degree of penetration of the vulva, penis, or anus of another by any body part or any object with the intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade any person or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person

Aggravated sexual contact occurs if a defendant causes sexual contact on or by someone else in a manner that would violate the federal rape law if the sexual contact had been a sexual act instead. Abusive sexual contact occurs if a defendant causes sexual contact on or by someone else in a manner that would violate the federal sexual assault law if the contact were a sexual act instead.

Florida’s sexual battery law

Florida law does not specifically reference sexual battery or rape. Instead, offenses that would meet the definition of rape or sexual assault under federal law are prosecuted in state courts under Florida’s general sexual battery statute. A state level sexual battery charge does not require the prosecutor to prove the defendant used force or a violent threat to commit a sexual act against the victim. A standard sexual battery charge is based on the victim’s lack of consent. Florida courts enhance the penalty in sexual battery cases that involve the use of force or a threat. In addition to whether aggravating factors are present in a case, penalties for sexual battery depend on the age of the victim and the perpetrator.

A sexual battery case that involves a defendant who is 18 years of age or older and a victim who is also 18 years of age or older is a second-degree felony in the absence of the use of force and other aggravating factors. If convicted, the defendant may be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

If the offender is 18 or older and the victim is at least 12 years of age but younger than 18, sexual battery is a first-degree felony offense. If convicted, the defendant may be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of up to $10,000.

AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES IN SEXUAL BATTERY CASES

Sexual battery is always a first-degree felony offense if the case involves aggravating circumstances. If the defendant is 18 years of age or older and the defendant is at least 18 years of age, the offense is a first-degree felony with a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if any of the following circumstances are present:

• the victim is physically helpless to resist
• the offender coerces the victim to comply by threatening to use force or violence likely to cause serious personal injury to the victim, and the victim reasonably believes that the offender has the present ability to execute the threat
• the offender coerces the victim to submit by threatening to retaliate against the victim or any other person, and the victim reasonably believes the defendant has the ability to execute the threat in the future
• the offender, without the prior knowledge or consent of the victim, administers or has knowledge of someone else administering to the victim any narcotic, anesthetic, or other intoxicating substance that mentally or physically incapacitates the victim
• the victim has a mental disorder, and the offender has reason to believe the victim has a mental disorder or has actual knowledge of the mental disorder
• the victim is physically incapacitated
• the offender is a law enforcement officer, correctional officer, correctional probation officer, an elected official, or any other authority figure in a detention setting.

If the victim is at least 12 years of age, the offense is a first-degree felony with a maximum sentence of life in prison. However, if the offender is younger than 18 years of age, the offense is a standard first-degree felony with a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Sexual battery is a first-degree felony if the victim is at least 12 years of age and the defendant threatens to use a deadly weapon or uses physical force likely to cause serious personal injury. If convicted, the defendant may be sentenced to a maximum penalty of life in state prison.

Florida’s lewd and lascivious laws

Florida’s lewd and lascivious statutes mostly refer to sex crimes that target victims who are younger than 16 years of age. The phrase “lewd or lascivious” refers to conduct that is unchaste, distasteful, wicked, or lustful. In lewd and lascivious cases, defendants cannot argue any of the following defenses:

• the victim’s lack of chastity
• the victim’s consent to the activity
• the defendant’s lack of knowledge or belief of the victim’s age

In addition to being charged under the state’s sexual battery statute, sex offenders can also be charged with a lewd and lascivious offense if the victim is a minor who is under 16 years of age. The state’s lewd and lascivious offenses are generally felony charges in cases in which the victim is younger than 16.

HOMESTEAD FL LEWD OR LASCIVIOUS BATTERY CHARGES

State law defines lewd or lascivious battery as engaging in a sexual act with someone who is 12 years of age or older but younger than 16. The acts of encouraging, forcing, or enticing anyone who is younger than 16 years old to engage in sadomasochistic abuse, bestiality, prostitution, or any other act that involves sexual activity also meets the definition of lewd or lascivious battery under Florida law.

Lewd or lascivious battery is generally a second-degree felony offense if no aggravating circumstances are present in the case. If convicted, the defendant may be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of up to $10,000. However, an adult defendant in a lewd or lascivious battery case may be charged with a first-degree felony offense if he or she has one or more prior convictions for kidnapping, human trafficking, or a similar offense while in the course of committing sexual battery or a lewd offense against a minor. If convicted on a first-degree felony charge of lewd or lascivious battery for a prior conviction, the defendant may be sentenced to up to 30 years in state prison and ordered to pay a fine of up to $10,000.

LEWD OR LASCIVIOUS MOLESTATION

Lewd or lascivious molestation is Florida’s equivalent to a child molestation law. State law defines lewd or lascivious molestation as intentionally touching in a lewd or lascivious manner the breasts, genitals, genital area, or buttocks, or the clothing covering them, of a person who is less than 16 years of age. Forcing or enticing a person who is younger than the age of 16 to touch the perpetrator also meets the state law definition of lewd or lascivious molestation.

Florida law draws a distinguishing line between minors who are younger than 12 years of age and minors who are at least 12 years old. Minor victims in Florida sex crimes cases who are younger than 12 are recognized by the state as prepubescent victims. Florida’s state courts generally enhance sentencing in cases in which the victim is younger than 12 years of age.

Lewd or lascivious molestation cases in which the offender is 18 years of age or over and the victim is younger than 12 years of age are first degree felony cases. If convicted, the defendant may be sentenced to a maximum penalty of life in prison. However, if the victim is 12 years of age or older but younger than 16, the offense is a second-degree felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Lewd or lascivious molestation is also a second-degree felony in cases in which the defendant is younger than 18 years of age and the victim is younger than 12 years of age.

In cases in which the defendant is younger than 18 years of age and the victim is at least 12 years old but less than 18 years of age, lewd or lascivious molestation is a third-degree felony. If convicted, the maximum penalty is five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

LEWD OR LASCIVIOUS CONDUCT

Lewd or lascivious conduct is similar to lewd or lascivious molestation. However, the two charges differ in terms of what the prosecutor must prove to establish a charge for illegally touching a minor in a sexual manner. Where lewd or lascivious molestation focuses on where the defendant touched the minor, lewd or lascivious conduct focuses on the way in which the defendant touched the minor.

Lewd or lascivious conduct is defined as intentionally touching someone who is under the age of 16 years of age in a lewd or lascivious manner. Soliciting a child who is younger than 16 years of age to commit a lewd or lascivious act also meets the definition of lewd or lascivious conduct. An offender who is 18 years of age or older who commits lewd or lascivious conduct may be charged with a second-degree state level felony offense. If the offender is younger than 18 years of age, the defendant may be charged with a third-degree felony.

LEWD OR LASCIVIOUS EXHIBITION

Florida’s lewd or lascivious exhibition statute underscores the importance of ensuring that no minors are in close proximity before you decide to engage in sexual conduct. State law defines lewd or lascivious exhibition as intentionally masturbating, exposing the genitals in a lewd or lascivious manner, or intentionally committing any other sexual act that does not involve actual physical or sexual contact with the victim, including but not limited to, sadomasochistic abuse, bestiality, or the simulation of any sexual act that involves sexual activity.

Lewd or lascivious exhibition is a second-degree felony if the offender is 18 years of age or older. If the offender is younger than 18 years of age, the offense is a third-degree felony. Florida law carves out an exception to the state’s lewd and lascivious offenses for mothers who are breastfeeding their child.

Homestead FL sex crimes defense attorney

If you have been contacted by law enforcement regarding a sex crime, you don’t have to face the charge alone. Contact our Homestead sex crimes defense lawyer to learn more about the types of cases we handle or to receive a case evaluation.