First-Degree Sexual Abuse Lawyer Kansas City, MO

First-Degree Sexual Abuse in the Missouri Revised Statutes

First-degree sexual abuse, as articulated in the Missouri Revised Statutes, occurs when the accused engages in sexual contact with another person who falls into any of the following categories:

• Incapacitated
• Incapable of consent
• Lacks the capacity to consent

It also includes any sexual contact accomplished through forcible compulsion.

“Consent” means that both parties agreed to the sexual contact through their words or actions. There are no magic words to give consent, but it must be informed. Consequently, agreement obtained through deception isn’t true consent.

Moreover, consent can’t be induced by force or duress. For example, suppose that someone threatened to kill the victim’s child if they refused to consent. Even if the victim were to agree, they wouldn’t have lawfully consented.

“Incapacitated” isn’t defined in the criminal code. However, Missouri’s estate code defines it to mean any physical or cognitive condition that prevents someone from receiving and evaluating information or communicating their decisions. By this definition, someone who’s drunk, in a coma, or having a psychotic episode is incapacitated.

“Incapable of consent” is also undefined. However, it was likely intended to refer to anyone who couldn’t consent for reasons other than incapacity. For example, someone who’s sleeping or intoxicated by psychedelic drugs can’t consent even though they aren’t incapacitated.

“Lacking the capacity to consent” refers to the person’s legal status. Minors and people who are mentally incompetent are unable to give legal consent. Again, even if these people agree to a sex act, their assent isn’t legally valid because the law says they can’t consent.

Finally, “forcible compulsion” means either physical force or a threat that creates a reasonable fear of death, serious physical injury, or kidnapping.

Notably, the physical force must be directed at the victim and must be sufficient to overcome reasonable resistance. The threat, however, can be directed at the victim or someone else, such as a friend or family member.

Sexual Abuse of Minors

Sexual abuse charges are parallel to child molestation charges. As noted, sexual abuse occurs when someone subjects another person to nonconsensual sexual contact. Child molestation charges can be filed when someone subjects a minor to sexual contact under the following circumstances:

• The victim is under 14
• The victim is under 17, and the perpetrator is more than four years older than the victim

Missouri’s child molestation offense has a so-called “Romeo and Juliet exception” that applies when one person is 14, 15, or 16 and the other is the same age or up to four years older. This means that someone 14, 15, or 16 years old can lawfully have consensual sexual contact with someone as old as 18, 19, or 20, respectively.

Given these boundaries, a prosecutor may file sexual abuse charges in the following scenarios:

• The victim is 14, 15, or 16, and the perpetrator was four or fewer years older, but the sexual contact was nonconsensual
• The victim is 17 or older, and the sexual contact was nonconsensual

In effect, this means that 17 is the age of consent for sexual contact. Below this age, prosecutors can charge the accused with child molestation, subject to the Romeo and Juliet exception, where consent isn’t a defense.

At or above 17, however, prosecutors will charge the accused with sexual abuse. They must prove that the sexual contact was nonconsensual. As such, consent is a defense to these charges.

Potential Defenses Against First-Degree Sexual Abuse Charges in Kansas City, MO

Your lawyer may raise any of the following criminal defense strategies to shield you from your charges.

Failure to Prove Every Element

Prosecutors bear the burden of proof in a criminal prosecution, meaning they must persuade a jury of every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. If they fail to do so, the jury can acquit.

First-degree sex abuse charges require a very high level of proof. It isn’t enough to point to a lack of consent. The prosecutors must prove forcible compulsion or a lack of consent due to incapacity, inability, or absence of legal capacity.

Put differently, the prosecution must establish both a lack of consent and the reason the alleged victim didn’t consent. This can be a high bar to clear.

Consent

Consent negates sexual abuse charges. You can raise the issue of consent with evidence of the alleged victim’s words or actions.

The standard here is objective. Your attorney only needs to show that an ordinary, reasonable person would have interpreted the other person’s words or acts as consent.

Lack of Intent

The sexual contact must also be intentional. Accidental or incidental contact doesn’t count. For example, suppose that your hand touched another person’s crotch after you lost your balance on a crowded bus. In this situation, you would have lacked the intent to commit sexual abuse.

No Sexual Contact

The purpose of the contact must be to sexually arouse, sexually gratify, or terrorize. Contact made for any other purpose may not qualify as sexual. For example, if you were a high school sports coach and a female student was struck in the sternum by a baseball, touching their chest to check for injury wouldn’t be considered sexual contact.

Punishment Upon Conviction for First-Degree Sexual Abuse in Missouri

The penalties for first-degree sexual abuse depend on the nature of the offense and the alleged victim’s age. Without any aggravating factors, the offense is a Class C felony punishable by three to 10 years in prison.

The offense is elevated to a Class B felony under two circumstances. The first is when the alleged victim is under 14. The second is when the abuse qualifies as an aggravated sexual offense.

An aggravated sexual offense occurs when the accused does any of the following:

• Seriously injures the victim
• Threatens the victim with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument
• Has a prior conviction for child sex crimes
• Commits the crime with others as a serial offender
• Is related to the victim

A Class B felony is punishable by five to 15 years in prison.