Rape

Rape accusations can set off a wave of damaging repercussions. You are not only at risk of a lengthy prison sentence – you also face being labeled as a rapist and drawing the contempt of your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Even your family will be negatively affected by the ugly claims.

The effects of a single misjudgment or a bad relationship can follow you for a lifetime. This is an offense worth fighting against vigorously.

What You Need To Know About Rape

In Pennsylvania, rape is defined as a person engaging in sexual intercourse with a complainant by forcible compulsion. The complainant can be either a male or female.

Under Pennsylvania law, it is rape when:

• Someone uses force, or threats of force, to prevent another person from resisting.
• The complainant is unconscious, or the alleged rapist knows they are unaware that the sexual intercourse is occurring.
• The alleged rapist substantially impairs another person’s power to appraise or control his or her conduct by giving them drugs or intoxicants without their knowledge that will prevent them from resisting.
• The complainant suffers from a mental disability that makes them incapable of consent.

Rape is a felony of the first degree, the most serious of crimes, and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

You can be sentenced to an additional term of up to 10 years in prison if you have given someone a drug rape drug, such as GHB, to make them powerless to resist the rape.

Rape Of A Child

• It is a felony of the first degree to rape a child who is less than 13 years old.
• If the sexual act injured the child, you will receive punishment that is even more severe.

An individual who rapes a child can draw a prison term of up to 40 years.

Rape Allegations

It is possible that someone will accuse you of rape out of spite, anger or a communication misunderstanding. This kind of accusation may not be enough to get you convicted of rape, but it can still result in your arrest and charges being filed against you — and it can still cause you much harm.

Often drugs or alcohol are involved in sex crimes. This means you are charged with rape when you legitimately thought the sex was consensual, but the claimant alleged they were too impaired to consent.

What To Do If You Are Charged

If you are charged with rape, do not anger the arresting officer unnecessarily. The police will make the decisions about your charges and especially in sex crimes there may be several choices that they can make that are of varying severity.

You will probably be held in jail overnight. At this stage, do not discuss what happened with the police or claim your innocence.

• As with most criminal charges, you should not talk to the police or prosecutors without your attorney by your side. What you say can be taken out of context and used against you.
• The police will not keep confidential any information you give them. They will tell the claimant what you said and your words may be used against you in court.
• If the police question you, tell them you want a lawyer and politely refuse to answer their questions.

What Your Lawyer Can Do

Your attorney will carefully review every aspect of your case to determine if there is evidence for all you have been accused of.

• If it is a you-said/they-said situation, where the only evidence against you is an accusation, you will be in a stronger position.
• Your attorney will investigate very closely to see if there is any evidence other than the claimant’s story to prove their claims.
• Your lawyer will make every effort to discredit any evidence. They will find and note any contradictions, and point out any parts of the claimant’s accusations that are impossible to have happened.

Your lawyer will be looking at every avenue that can help you, so it’s important that you give them all of the information that can support your case.

How A Lawyer Will Help

When you are up against a rape charge, even before your first hearing you will be facing a determined prosecutor and community condemnation. You need an attorney who will stand by you every step of the way, work hard to discredit any evidence – and work with you to determine your best course of action.

Pennsylvania Rape Law

Rape is described and defined under The Pennsylvania Criminal Code under Title 18, Chapter 31. Read the code here.