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As the Arab's post demonstrated, the offense code in question clearly does indicate a sex act performed by force and without consent. Most definitions of the word "rape" encompass any forced sex act, rather than being strictly limited to sexual intercourse,


We're not talking about any definition - we're talking the legal definition, in the state and at the time the act happened. Legal definitions are the same as common usage only some of the time; it's set by case law as judges rule what the words mean in cases.

For example, if she's legally drunk some state may simply say that consent cannot be granted - a not-unreasonable outgrowth of drugged/date-rape issues. In that case, even if she said Yes! it's still nonconsensual and that element of the statute is met (in other words, don't assume "legally nonconsensual" means without her permission).

I can't think of any good examples for "force", although again case law could, for example, state that any penetration without consent meets the "force" element ("legal force" may not require opposition or resistance, and might be met even if permission is granted). Again this is a possible outgrowth of date-rape cases.

(I'm not saying either example is true, only that when I look at such things I wonder if it might be - in patent law those kinds of things happen all the time).

My point is that if you're stuck with a bad public defender and the prosecutor wants to make his quota then I can easily see a "relatively minor" problem getting blown up to this. Of course the best thing is to not get mixed up in the wrong business to start with - control your temper, walk away, keep your zipper closed.

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so I think it's fair to call it rape. A specific legal offense entitled "rape" may have a more limited definition of course.


Probably broader, not narrower.

PS. These squirrelly definitions are one reason it's madness for anyone to attempt to defend themselves, even for a DUI, much less something like this. You have to know what each word means, and what happened in the cases that went before.
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"If they can't picture me with a knife, forcing them to strip in an alley, I don't want any part of it. It's humiliating." - windsock