Los Angeles Attorneys Explain Key Issues in Date Rape Cases

In California, “Rape is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person not the spouse of the perpetrator, under any of the following circumstances:

1. Where a person is incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent….
2. Where it is accomplished against a person s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the person or another.
3. Where a person is prevented from resisting by any intoxicating or anesthetic substance….
4. Where a person is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act, and this is known to the accused….
5. Where a person submits under the belief that the person committing the act is someone known to the victim other than the accused….
6. Where the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to retaliate in the future against the victim or any other person….
7. Where the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to use the authority of a public official to incarcerate, arrest, or deport the victim or another….”

CA Penal Code § 261 (2016)

Date rape is one form of rape in which the victim knows the rapist and there is an expectation by one of the two people that a sexual encounter will take place. That knowledge of each other may have occurred over time, or the victim may have just met the rapist that day.

According to the Center for Family Justice:

• In eight out of ten rape cases, the victim and the rapist knew each other.
• 3% of the victims have reported that the rape was date-related.
• Only a little over a quarter of date rape cases are reported to the police.

Date rape is also known as “acquaintance rape,” and acquaintance rape can also encompass rape in the workplace.

Drugs and alcohol are leading contributors to date rape

Date rape is unfortunately all too common at colleges throughout the country, and Southern California is no exception. Some students think that sexual relationships are part and parcel of going to school — they’re wrong. In many cases, the rapists use drugs or alcohol, or a combination of both, to impair the victim’s mental faculties without their consent. Some of the drugs that are used include:

• Ketamine
• Rohypnol
• Drugs with GBH
• Hypnotic drugs such as zopiclone
• Sedatives and anti-psychotics
• Cholral hydrate
• Recreational drugs, including marijuana
• Cocaine
• Barbiturates
• Opioids
• PCP

The drugs are usually put into the victim’s drink, causing the victim to become confused, sleepy, weak, or to pass out.

Too much alcohol consumption also causes many problems, including a decreased ability to correct wrongful assumptions and a decreased ability to resist sexual advances.

Get justice and peace of mind by consulting with our Southern California date rape lawyers today

At Taylor & Ring, our Los Angeles date rape attorneys understand how traumatic and frightening date rape cases can be. Many victims are afraid to speak out. They worry what friends and families might think. They are scared to confront the rapist in court. Our lawyers work to help the victim get the counseling they need and the answers to the legal questions they have so they can move forward with their lives and with any litigation in court. For strong help now, please call Taylor & Ring at 310-776-6390 or fill out our contact form to discuss your case with caring legal professionals.

Related Articles

• Los Angeles Rape Victims Attorney
• Relaxed Statute of Limitation Laws Don’t Apply to Civil Rape Cases
• Date Rape Is Increasingly Abetted by Drugs

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