Sexual Abuse Lawyer Kansas City, MO

Sexual Abuse Offenses in the Missouri Revised Statutes

The Missouri Revised Statutes contain a lengthy chapter on sex offenses. This chapter outlines the following two sex abuse offenses.

First-Degree Sexual Abuse

First-degree sexual abuse occurs when the accused makes sexual contact with someone else under any of the following circumstances:

• Using forcible compulsion
• When the victim is incapacitated
• When the victim lacks the capacity to give consent
• When the victim is incapable of giving consent

“Forcible compulsion” means the accused used either of the following while making sexual contact:

• Sufficient physical force to overcome reasonable resistance
• An express or implied threat that causes reasonable fear of death, serious physical injury, or kidnapping of the victim or another person

A victim is incapacitated when they’re temporarily or permanently rendered unconscious, unable to evaluate the nature of their actions, or unable to communicate a lack of consent. Therefore, someone who is intoxicated by drugs or alcohol is incapacitated, as is a comatose patient in a hospital.

The law determines the capacity to consent. Minors and people adjudged mentally incompetent lack the legal capacity to consent. In other words, even if they say “yes,” these people can’t give legal consent to sexual contact.

A person is incapable of consent when they either can’t consent or can’t communicate their consent. Someone who is asleep is incapable of consenting, even if they’re of legal age and mentally competent.

The state’s most serious sex offenses, first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy, require sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse, respectively.

Intercourse involves penetration, however slight. Thus, if the contact between the accused and the alleged victim involves genital, oral, or anal penetration, prosecutors will likely pursue rape or sodomy charges.

By contrast, sexual abuse charges are geared toward other types of sexual contact that don’t involve penetration, including those that non-lawyers might call groping or molesting.

Notably, Missouri doesn’t have a statutory sexual abuse charge the same way it has statutory rape and statutory sodomy charges. Statutory rape occurs when someone has or attempts to have sexual intercourse with someone under 17. Statutory sodomy involves acts of deviate sexual intercourse with the same class of victims.

Instead of providing a separate offense of “statutory sexual abuse,” first-degree sex abuse charges include sexual contact with minors. If the alleged victim is under 14, the law mandates harsher punishment.

Second-Degree Sexual Abuse

Second-degree sexual abuse charges require proof that the accused purposely made sexual contact without the other person’s consent. There are a few situations where a person might not consent to sexual contact without solid evidence of incapacity, incapability, or force.

For example, someone might consent to non-sexual contact, such as kissing, but the other person might exceed the bounds of consent by engaging in sexual touching. Another example might occur where the alleged victim consents to sexual contact but changes their mind and withdraws their consent.

Second-degree sexual abuse charges may also apply to the following common examples of physical harassment:

• A stranger non-consensually groping someone in a crowd
• A doctor molesting a patient under the guise of an examination
• A boss touching an employee in a sexual manner without consent

In these situations, the prosecution may have a case for second-degree sexual abuse rather than a first-degree charge if the alleged victim is a mentally competent adult.

Defenses Available Against Sexual Abuse Charges in Kansas City, MO

If you’re accused of sexual abuse in Kansas City, a skilled criminal defense attorney may use any of the following defense strategies to challenge the charges against you.

Consent

Consent definitionally negates sex abuse charges. For this reason, evidence of legally valid consent disproves a key element of the crime.

In these cases, disputes frequently arise concerning whether consent was lawfully given and communicated. Consequently, merely alleging that the other person consented may not be enough to defend yourself. You may also need evidence, such as text messages sent before or after the encounter, to corroborate claims of consent.

Alibi

Alibi evidence demonstrates that you couldn’t have committed the offense in question. Typically, an alibi places the suspect or defendant at a different location than the crime scene.

Victims may falsely identify perpetrators in sexual abuse cases involving intoxication. An alibi supported by witness testimony or other evidence, such as security camera footage, might prove that you couldn’t have committed the alleged offense.

No Sexual Contact

You may have been present when the alleged offense took place, and you may even have engaged in some contact with the alleged victim. However, the contact might have been non-sexual. For example, you might have accidentally touched the victim. Since the statute requires purposeful contact, accidental touching doesn’t constitute a crime.

Similarly, touching for a purpose other than sexual gratification or terrorizing the victim may not meet the statutory standard. For instance, a coach touching a player’s chest to examine an injury likely wouldn’t qualify as sexual abuse.

Possible Punishment for Sexual Abuse Convictions in Missouri

Before sentencing defendants convicted of sexual abuse, the jury must determine whether the acts constituted an aggravated offense. Under Missouri law, an aggravated offense includes at least one of the following circumstances:

• The victim suffered a serious physical injury
• The perpetrator displayed a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument to threaten the victim
• The perpetrator has a prior conviction for sex crimes against a minor
• The victim is related to the perpetrator

With these factors in mind, a judge can impose the following sentences for sexual abuse: