Common law defines rape as the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force, duress or undue influence to engage in sexual intercourse where consent of the victim is not given or where the victim is incapable of giving consent. Pennsylvania statutes state that a person commits a felony of the first degree when the person engages in sexual intercourse with a complainant:
(1) By forcible compulsion.
(2) By threat of forcible compulsion that would prevent resistance by a person of reasonable resolution.
(3) Who is unconscious or where the person knows that the complainant is unaware that the sexual intercourse is occurring.
(4) Where the person has substantially impaired the complainant's power to appraise or control his or her conduct by administering or employing, without the knowledge of the complainant, drugs, intoxicants or other means for the purpose of preventing resistance.
(5) Who suffers from a mental disability which renders the complainant incapable of consent.
The Scranton Times-Tribune reports that a 32-year-old woman was confronted by a man in her driveway who asked to use her phone and who allegedly forced himself into the victim's house, held her at gunpoint, and raped her. The suspected rapist is described as a white male, five feet, seven inches tall, in his forties. Police are still searching for the suspect.
If you have been charged with a serious felony such as rape, then you need to contact a criminal attorney in order to ensure that your rights are aggressively protected. Whether in Luzerne County, Lackawanna County, Monroe County, Wayne County, Wyoming County, Susquehanna County or Carbon County, an aggressive and experienced Scranton criminal lawyer can navigate you through the complicated criminal system - and will fight for your rights!
Don't risk a long prison sentence by putting your liberty in the hands of the legal system or of an inexperienced or unavailable lawyer. Contact an aggressive and experienced rape defense lawyer at Rogan Law today! We are ready to protect you.
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