Lee Hollander Criminal Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Understanding Naples Sex Crime Charges in Florida

Wednesday, September 16, 2009 by Lee Hollander

Hollander & Hanuka assists clients who need legal guidance with Naples sex crime charges:

  • Statutory rape charges
  • Spousal rape
  • Other Naples rape laws
In Florida, rape is known as sexual battery.

Naples rape laws differentiate between sexual battery cases—which are more commonly considered as the non-consensual or forcible types of sex—and lewd and lascivious behavior, which is more commonly considered as a less forcible Naples sex crime.

Naples Statutory Rape Charges

Naples statutory rape charges and Naples spousal rape fall under Florida’s sexual battery statutes.

Sexual battery is defined that any penetration, however slight, or mere contact between a male or female's sexual organ and the mouth, anus, or vagina of another of a certain age constitutes sexual battery. Notice that consent or the lack thereof is not an element of the definition of sexual battery.

In other words, if the victim is under 16 years of age, consent is not a defense to the crime—this situation is how one incurs Naples statutory rape charges.

Under the Sexual Battery statute (F.S. 794.011), it is illegal for a defendant to have sex with another person who is under 16 years of age, even with that person's consent. If the offender is over 18, and the victim is under 12 years old, the penalty is a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. The trial judge has no discretion to impose any lesser sentence.

Naples Spousal Rape

Florida is one of only ten states that does not make a distinction between marital sexual battery and non-marital sexual battery. That means that Naples sexual battery charges which specify a spouse as the victim can carry the same penalties as sexual battery by someone other than the spouse.

This information was provided by a naples sex crime lawyer of Hollander & Hanuka, P.A., 2325 Stanford Court Naples, FL 34112.
Posted at 15:05 PM
Topic: Criminal Law
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