Statutory Rape and Law Essay

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Total Length: 1436 words ( 5 double-spaced pages)

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Hypothetical Situation

Case Facts: Darryl is a 20-year-old man who has consensual sexual intercourse with Victoria, a 15-year-old girl. Darryl usually likes his sex to be very physical or rough in nature. Although she is uncomfortable with this, Victoria goes along because she would be embarrassed if Darryl thought she was inexperienced. Unbeknownst to either of them, Victoria is pregnant at the time that she and Darryl have intercourse. Due to the rough nature of their actions, Victoria miscarried resulting in the death of the unborn child.

The first issue presented in this case is whether the Darryl committed statutory rape since Victoria was a minor at the time of the incident. The second legal issue in this case is whether Darryl committed feticide, which is an act that contributes to the death of an unborn fetus, though he did not know about the pregnancy when having intercourse with Victoria.

Rule: Sexual intercourse with a minor i.e. an individual aged below 16 years is prohibited by the law. The law also specifies the age of consent for sexual activity, which is used as the premise for determining legal issues relating to sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse with a girl aged below 16 years is considered as statutory rape even if the act was consensual between the two parties (Vij, 2014). The age of consent for sexual activity for a girl is stipulated as 16 years or more by the law. Darryl sexual intercourse with Victoria can be considered legal or illegal depending on the rule of law or regulations that are relevant to the situation. The rule of law in this situation is that common law makes it illegal to have sexual intercourse even if it's consensual with a girl aged below 16 years. According to common law, sexual intercourse between an adult and a minor past the puberty age is considered as statutory rape. Additionally, statutory rape is a term used to refer to sexual intercourse sexual acts where one of the parties is below the legal age of consent for sexual activity.

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Feticide is defined as an act that contributes to the death of an unborn fetus, especially intentional acts. Under the common law, murdering an unborn baby i.e. fetus was not a homicide since criminal homicide laws prohibited killing a person or a human being (Gardner & Anderson, 2016). However, criminal statutes have been amended in the recent past and changed common law by prohibiting the killing of a fetus through deliberate or planned activities. Consequently, many states have adopted feticide laws, which prohibit the killing of an unborn fetus beyond the definitions of homicide in common law. Victoria engaged in rough sexual acts that resulted in miscarriage and death of her unborn child though she did not know of the pregnancy at that time. The rule of law in this hypothetical situation is that common law prohibits intentional involvement in actions or activities to could end up killing an unborn baby or fetus. When applying the rule of law in this case, it's important to consider whether Victoria's actions were equal to intentional killing of the fetus despite being ignorant of the pregnancy.

Analysis: Common law and current legal statutes prohibit statutory rape and feticide by any individual. Dressler (2014), states that statutory rape is sexual activity between an adult and a child (girl) below the age While the girl may consent to the sexual intercourse, the sexual activity is considered illegal if she is below 16 years. Common law stipulates that the age of consent for sexual activity for a girl is 16 years. Therefore, if an adult engages in a sexual act with a girl below this age, he is guilty of statutory rape since he has committed an offense against a person (minor).

In this case, Darryl is guilty of statutory rape because his actions fall under common provisions of this crime. At the time of this incident, Darryl was 20 years old, which implies that he was an adult whereas Victoria was a minor aged 15 years. While Victoria consented to the sexual intercourse,….....

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