Rape is prohibited by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 22(b). To convict a defendant of rape, the prosecutor must prove both of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. That the defendant had sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse with a person. “Sexual intercourse” means penetration of the female organ.Penetration can be shown by evidence of intrusion into the vagina or by evidence that the male organ touched the labia or vulva. “Unnatural sexual intercourse” includes oral and anal intercourse and other intrusions of a person’s body part or an object into the genital or anal opening of another person’s body.
2. That the defendant compelled that person to submit to the intercourse by force and against that person’s will or by threat of bodily injury. Force may, but need not be, physical force. Common evidence of physical force includes a violent act, an attempt to restrain a person, a struggle or an outcry. The physical force necessary to affect the intercourse itself can sometimes be enough to satisfy this element when the victim lacks the capacity to consent. Lack of capacity may be shown through evidence that the victim was asleep, unconscious, mentally disabled, or intoxicated. Intoxication by itself, however, cannot show that the victim lacked capacity to consent because, obviously, not all levels of intoxication render a person unable to consent. The conduct, appearance or words of a defendant as he presented himself to the alleged victim may also establish force. In determining whether a person was compelled by force,  courts consider whether the victim was placed in fear, the effect of the fear or circumstances on the victims ability to resist,  all of the events and all of the defendant’s acts. A threat of bodily harm may be explicit, but it may also be implicit in the defendant’s acts or words when the victim reasonably interpreted the acts or words to be threats. It is not required that a victim actually hear threatening words.  It is also not required that a victim use physical force to resist. Whether the prosecutor proceeds on a theory of force or threat of bodily injury, he must always also prove that the intercourse was against the will of the alleged victim.

Sexual or unnatural intercourse occurring when one person compels another to submit by force and against his will, or by threat of bodily injury, is rape even if the two persons are dating, in a relationship or married. Charges of “date rape” are particularly prevalent at many college campuses.

Rape cases are highly emotionally-charged, and they present unique difficulties in determining the truth of the matter. Criminal law has certain safeguards to thwart false rape charges and to aid in determining complainants’ credibility or reliability. Under the old “fresh complaint” doctrine, the prosecution was allowed to introduce out-of-court statements that were made by a victim promptly after an alleged rape. In 2005, the Supreme Judicial Court revised that doctrine in a case called Commonwealth v. King. Under the new rule, called the “first complaint” doctrine, the person to whom the alleged victim first complained, regardless of how prompt, can testify about the complaint and the circumstances surrounding it. Only first complaint testimony is admissible complaint testimony. Additional complaint testimony is inadmissible because it serves no added corroborative goal and it may prejudice a defendant by repeating the often ghastly details of the alleged rape. First complaint testimony is only admitted in court to determine the credibility of the alleged victim. It cannot be used to prove that the alleged rape actually occurred. Such testimony is inadmissible when the only question is the identity of the assailant.

Wrongful rape convictions are far from uncommon, and DNA evidence has exonerated many of the wrongfully convicted. In a 2005 study by a University of Michigan Law School professor, 121 innocent prisoners sentenced for rape between 1989 and 2003 had been exonerated.  Within the past twenty years in Massachusetts alone, 22 innocent men were freed after serving many years in prison for wrongful rape and murder convictions. Suffolk County has the second largest number of wrongful convictions in the country. The most common factors that contribute to wrongful convictions are eyewitness error, often due to inherently suggestive police and courtroom identification procedures, inadequate disclosure of exculpatory evidence, police misconduct, careless investigations, overly-hostile police interrogations and ineffective assistance of counsel. One example of a Massachusetts wrongful rape conviction involved Neil J. Miller. Miller served 10 ½ years in prison before he was exonerated by DNA evidence. At the time of his trial in 1989, DNA evidence was not admissible in Massachusetts courts, so police didn’t bother to test a semen stain where the rape took place. That stain later proved his innocence. Another particularly disturbing example involves Angel Hernandez, who served almost fourteen years in prison for rape before DNA testing exonerated him. Not until after he was released did evidence surface that the state failed to disclose evidence proving his alibi to be true.

If you are convicted of rape in Massachusetts, you face imprisonment in the state prison for up to 20 years. If you are convicted of this offense for a second or subsequent time, you face imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any term of years. Rape committed with a firearm, rifle, shotgun, machine-gun or assault weapon carries a mandatory minimum ten-year state prison sentence.

Sex crimes, including rape, are a significant practice area for most Massachusetts criminal defense lawyers. Such a serious charge demands the service of highly knowledgeable and accomplished attorneys. If you are charged with rape or other sex crimes, the Law Offices of Stephen Neyman is fully prepared to provide a first-rate defense on your behalf. Call our office today at 617-263-6800 or  contact us online.

Si usted habla espanol contacta a nuestro asistente de abogado Maria Rivera en 617-877-6270.