Rape is a very serious charge in Kansas. It is a felony and carries a prison term if you are convicted. A rape charge in Kansas can come as a result of many different factual scenarios including the conduct between strangers or between people who are very familiar with one another. Rape is among the most serious of crimes in Kansas.
Rape is engaging in sexual intercourse with a person who does not consent. “Sexual intercourse” means any penetration of the female sex organ by a finger, the male sex organ or any object. Any penetration, however slight, is sufficient to constitute sexual intercourse. An explicit lack of consent, like actually saying “no”, is not necessary to prove lack of consent.
The crime occurs when a victim is overcome by force or fear, unconscious or physically powerless, unable to give consent because of a mental deficiency or disease, or because of the effects of alcohol or drugs. Rape also occurs when consent is obtained by fraud or deceit regarding a medical or therapeutic procedure.
The term “statutory rape” refers to a situation when two parties engage in sexual intercourse, but one of the parties is under the age of fourteen. Rape of a person 14 years or older is a severity level 1, person felony.
Possible Defenses of a Rape Charge
Whether a person consented to the sexual intercourse may be an issue in a case. Whether the accused person knew or should have known that the alleged victim was too intoxicated by alcohol drugs to grant consent may be an issue. Whether the accused knew or should have known that an alleged victim had a mental deficiency may be an issue. These are factual issues that may be defenses against a rape charge in Kansas and an attorney with experience handling Kansas sex crimes is absolutely essential because a conviction for rape is extremely serious.
A conviction results in almost certain incarceration for an extended period of time – up to 50 years in prison depending on your criminal record. In addition, a person convicted of rape will have to register as a sex offender. In Kansas, that means your name becomes part of a database or list that is monitored and maintained by the Kansas Bureau of Investigations.
That list is almost always publicly accessible, so your designation as a sexual offender will be known to the community. You have to report in to a local law enforcement agency regularly. You cannot live in certain areas that are within a particular distance from a school, church, or residence where juveniles reside. You cannot rent in many apartment buildings. You cannot go to your child’s school to have lunch because you are not allowed to be on the premises of the school. The ramifications of a rape conviction are wide-ranging and life-altering.
If you or someone you know is being investigated or accused of rape you should download and read our firm’s free book on Kansas Sex Crimes. It is critical to get an attorney involved as early in the accusatory process as possible and that you do not speak to law enforcement until you have the advice and counsel of a lawyer.
KSA 21-5503. Rape
(a) Rape is:
(1) Knowingly engaging in sexual intercourse with a victim who does not consent to the sexual intercourse under any of the following circumstances:
(A) When the victim is overcome by force or fear; or
(B) when the victim is unconscious or physically powerless;
(2) Knowingly engaging in sexual intercourse with a victim when the victim is incapable of giving consent because of mental deficiency or disease, or when the victim is incapable of giving consent because of the effect of any alcoholic liquor, narcotic, drug or other substance, which condition was known by the offender or was reasonably apparent to the offender;
(3) sexual intercourse with a child who is under 14 years of age;
(4) sexual intercourse with a victim when the victim’s consent was obtained through a knowing misrepresentation made by the offender that the sexual intercourse was a medically or therapeutically necessary procedure; or
(5) sexual intercourse with a victim when the victim’s consent was obtained through a knowing misrepresentation made by the offender that the sexual intercourse was a legally required procedure within the scope of the offender’s authority.
(b)(1) Rape as defined in:
(A) Subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) is a severity level 1, person felony;
(B) subsection (a)(3) is a severity level 1, person felony, except as provided in subsection (b)(2); and
(C) subsection (a)(4) or (a)(5) is a severity level 2, person felony.
(2) Rape as defined in subsection (a)(3) or attempt, conspiracy or criminal solicitation to commit rape as defined in subsection (a)(3) is an off-grid person felony, when the offender is 18 years of age or older.
(c) If the offender is 18 years of age or older, the provisions of:
(1) Subsection (c) of K.S.A. 21-5301, and amendments thereto, shall not apply to a violation of attempting to commit the crime of rape as defined in subsection (a)(3);
(2) subsection (c) of K.S.A. 21-5302, and amendments thereto, shall not apply to a violation of conspiracy to commit the crime of rape as defined in subsection (a)(3); and
(3) subsection (d) of K.S.A. 21-5303, and amendments thereto, shall not apply to a violation of criminal solicitation to commit the crime of rape as defined in subsection (a)(3).
(d) It shall be a defense to a prosecution of rape under subsection (a)(3) that the child was married to the accused at the time of the offense.
(e) Except as provided in subsection (a)(2), it shall not be a defense that the offender did not know or have reason to know that the victim did not consent to the sexual intercourse, that the victim was overcome by force or fear, or that the victim was unconscious or physically powerless.