A charge of rape in Okmulgee, Oklahoma can have serious implications. If you have been charged with rape, the best way to preserve your rights and prepare your defense is to contact an experienced Okmulgee criminal defense lawyer immediately. Rape in Okmulgee, Oklahoma is a felony that can be punishable by as much as life in prison.
Oklahoma law previously included capital punishment – death – as a maximum penalty for rape, but a subsequent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008) invalidated death sentence laws nationwide where the death of a victim was not an element of the crime. Oklahoma penalties for rape are nonetheless among the most serious criminal sanctions a person can face.
The Oklahoma statute for rape has been amended and the new law went into effect on November 1, 2015. This new statute defines rape in many situations where consent is irrelevant. The prosecutor must only prove that one of the situations listed in the statute occurred beyond a reasonable doubt to get a rape conviction.
What Defines Rape in Okmulgee?
Rape is an act of sexual intercourse involving vaginal or anal penetration accomplished with a male or female who is not the spouse of the perpetrator and who may be of the same or the opposite sex as the perpetrator under any of the following circumstances according to the amended statute:
1. Where the victim is under sixteen (16) years of age;
2. Where the victim is incapable through mental illness or any other unsoundness of mind, whether temporary or permanent, of giving legal consent;
3. Where force or violence is used or threatened, accompanied by apparent power of execution to the victim or to another person;
4. Where the victim is intoxicated by a narcotic or anesthetic agent, administered by or with the privity of the accused as a means of forcing the victim to submit;
5. Where the victim is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act and this fact is known to the accused;
6. Where the victim submits to sexual intercourse under the belief that the person committing the act is a spouse, and this belief is induced by artifice, pretense, or concealment practiced by the accused or by the accused in collusion with the spouse with intent to induce that belief. In all cases of collusion between the accused and the spouse to accomplish such act, both the spouse and the accused, upon conviction, shall be deemed guilty of rape;
7. Where the victim is under the legal custody or supervision of a state agency, a federal agency, a county, a municipality or a political subdivision and engages in sexual intercourse with a state, federal, county, municipal or political subdivision employee or an employee of a contractor of the state, the federal government, a county, a municipality or a political subdivision that exercises authority over the victim;
8. Where the victim is at least sixteen (16) years of age and is less than twenty (20) years of age and is a student, or under the legal custody or supervision of any public or private elementary or secondary school, junior high or high school, or public vocational school, and engages in sexual intercourse with a person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older and is an employee of the same school system; or
9. Where the victim is nineteen (19) years of age or younger and is in the legal custody of a state agency, federal agency or tribal court and engages in sexual intercourse with a foster parent or foster parent applicant.
Rape in Okmulgee is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a male or female who is the spouse of the perpetrator if force or violence is used or threatened, accompanied by apparent power of execution to the victim or to another person. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1111
In all instances, the statutory age where the victim is legally unable to consent is 16. However, if the victim is under the age of 14, a charge of rape in the first degree is possible. Rape in the first degree is:
- rape committed by a person over eighteen (18) years of age upon a person under fourteen (14) years of age; or
- rape committed upon a person incapable through mental illness or any unsoundness of mind of giving legal consent regardless of the age of the person committing the crime; or
- rape accomplished where the victim is intoxicated by a narcotic or anesthetic agent, administered by or with the privity of the accused as a means of forcing the victim to submit; or
- rape accomplished where the victim is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act and this fact is known to the accused; or
- rape accomplished with any person by means of force, violence, or threats of force or violence accompanied by apparent power of execution regardless of the age of the person committing the crime; or
- rape by instrumentation resulting in bodily harm is rape by instrumentation in the first degree regardless of the age of the person committing the crime; or
- rape by instrumentation committed upon a person under fourteen (14) years of age. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1114
Penalties for Rape in Okmulgee
A conviction of rape in the first degree is a felony crime, which is punishable by a minimum of five years in prison. It could also be punishable by life in prison, life without parole, or death. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1115
All other cases of rape that are not listed as rape in the first degree are classified as rape in the second degree and are punishable by 1 to 15 years in prison. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1116
In addition, a conviction for rape in Okmulgee will create the obligation to register as a sex offender.
Low-cost Consultation: Okmulgee Criminal Defense Attorney
If you or someone you know is accused of committing rape in Okmulgee, please contact an Okmulgee criminal defense attorney to discuss your available legal options.
Consult with an experienced attorney at Wirth Law Office – Okmulgee today, by calling 918-756-9600 or toll free at 1-888-Wirth-Law (1-888-947-8452).
If you prefer, you can use the box in the upper right-hand corner of this page to send a question or brief message.
