Florida state laws currently state that rape is a felony crime, no longer held separate from sexual battery. It is one of the most serious crimes in Florida, and one that is not held lightly. In order for the court to prove a rape offense, the court must be able to prove that the defendant participated in a sexual act, whether oral, anal or vaginal, with the victim against their will. If the rape victim is a minor or under age even by a year, the rape can be determined statutory based upon the circumstances.
The only defense that can be used against a rape charge is the voluntary consent of the victim. In order to use this defense, a defendant will have to have their Florida rape attorney put in their plea. The defendant is not allowed to discuss the state of the victim’s sexual life prior to the occurrence of the incident in question as a defense.
Penalties and Sentences of Rape in Florida
There are a few different penalties for being convicted of a rape crime in Florida. A proper Florida rape defense lawyer should be well versed in these punishments, and their variations.
- Sexual battery, when committed upon a child under the age of twelve, and done so by an adult of eighteen years of age or older, is punishable by the death penalty or life in prison without the chance of parole. If the defendant was under the legal age of eighteen at the time they committed the crime, the crime is considered a life felony.
- If a deadly weapon was used in the crime, and the crime in question was perpetrated upon a minor of twelve years of age or younger, the offense can be moved up in class to a life felony. If the prosecuting Florida rape defense attorney can establish a circumstance of the Florida law, the charge can be moved up in class to a first degree felony, for which there is a penalty of thirty years in prison.
- The minimal punishment for a rape crime committed upon a person older than twelve years old is a second degree felony, which has a punishment of up to fifteen years in prison.
- Mandated sex offender registration with the National Sex Offender Registry