Jacksonville Sexual Battery Lawyer

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Sexual Battery (commonly referred to as "Rape") allegations alone with no corroboration can be enough to ruin a person's life.  People tend to believe rape allegations without hearing any evidence whatsoever, and even when the listed victim has given many inconsistent statements.  The sentence for a Sexual Battery conviction is extremely severe.  Give the experienced Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer of LGL a call to discuss your sexual battery case.

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Sexual Battery is defined in Florida Statute Section 794.011.  There are several different forms of Sexual Battery: 

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Sexual Battery - Victim Less Than 12 Years of Age

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To prove Sexual Battery - Victim Less Than 12 Years of Age,
the State must prove:

• The victim was less than 12 years of age, and
  

• you committed an act upon or with the victim in which the your sexual organ penetrated or had union with the anus, vagina, or mouth of the victim, or
  

• you committed an act upon the victim in which the anus or vagina of the victim was penetrated by an object, or
  

• you injured the sexual organ of the victim in an attempt to commit an act upon or with the victim in which your sexual organ  would have penetrated or would have had union with the anus, vagina, or mouth of  the victim, or the victim would have penetrated or would have had union with your anus, vagina, or mouth.
  

• you injured the sexual organ of the victim in an attempt to commit an act upon the victim in which the anus or vagina of the victim would be penetrated by an object. 
  

• The jury must also determine whether you were 18 years of age or older at the time of the sexual battery.
  

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Sexual Battery - Victim 12 Years of Age or Older - Great Force

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• The victim was 12 years of age or older, and
  

• you committed an act upon or with the victim in which your sexual organ penetrated or had union with the anus, vagina or mouth of the victim, or the victim's sexual organ penetrated or had union with your anus, vagina, or mouth, or
  

• you committed an act upon the victim in which the anus or vagina of the victim was penetrated by an object, and
  

• you, in the process:

• used or threatened to use a deadly weapon, or
  

• used actual physical force likely to cause serious personal injury, and
  

• the  act was done without the consent of the victim. 
  

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Sexual Battery - Victim 12 Years of Age or Older - Specified Circumstances

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To prove the crime of Sexual Battery - Victim 12 Years of Age or Older - Specified Circumstances, the State must prove:

• The victim was 12 years of age or older, and
  

• you committed an act upon or with the victim in which your sexual organ penetrated or had union with the anus, vagina, or mouth of the victim, or the victim's sexual organ penetrated or had union with your anus, vagina, or mouth, or

• you committed an act upon the victim in which the anus or vagina of the victim was penetrated by an object, and
  

• the victim was physically helpless to resist, or
  

• you coerced the victim to submit by threatening to use force or violence likely to cause serious personal injury and the victim reasonably believed you had the present ability to execute the threat, or
  

• you coerced the victim to submit by threat of retaliation against the victim or any other person and the victim reasonably believed that you had the ability to execute the threat in the future. 
  

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Sexual Battery - Person 12 Years of Age or Older

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To prove the crime of Sexual Battery - Person 12 Years of Age or Older, the State must prove:

• The victim was 12 years of age or older, and
  

• you committed an act upon or with the victim in which your sexual organ penetrated or had union with the anus, vagina, or mouth of the victim, or
  

• you committed an act upon the victim in which the anus or vagina of the victim was penetrated by an object, and
  

• the act was committed without the consent of the victim. 
  

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"Sexual Battery" means oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or vaginal penetration of another by any other object; however, sexual battery does not include an act done for a bona fide medical purpose.

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"Union" means contact.

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"Consent" means intelligent, knowing, and voluntary consent and does not include coerced submission.  Consent does not mean the failure by the alleged victim to offer physical resistance to the offender.

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If the victim has a mental defect, the jury can conclude that the victim is not capable of giving intelligent, knowing and voluntary consent.  Therefore, even if an adult with a mental disability consented to sexual contact, you could be convicted of sexual battery if a jury determines that consent was not intelligent, knowing and voluntary. 

"Mentally defective" means that a person suffers from a mental disease or defect that renders that person temporarily or permanently incapable of appraising the nature of his or her conduct.

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If the victim is mentally incapacitated, then the jury can conclude that he or she does not have the ability to voluntarily consent to sexual contact and therefore the sexual contact is sexual battery.  A common example of this is where the victim gets highly intoxicated and engages in sexual activity with someone.  That person is at risk of being convicted of sexual battery if that person claims the next day that they were too incapacitated to consent. 

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If the person was mentally incapacitated without his or her consent, then he or she is not capable of giving intelligent, knowing and willing consent. So, even if the person said the word "yes" at the time, it would still constitute sexual battery if that person had been drugged without his or her consent. 

"Mentally incapacitated" means that a person is rendered temporarily incapable of appraising or controlling his or her conduct due to the influence of a narcotic, anesthetic, or intoxicating substance administered to that person without his or her consent, or due to any other act committed upon that person without his or her consent. 

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A "deadly weapon" is a weapon used or threatened to be used in a way likely to produce death or great bodily harm. 

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"Serious personal injury" means great bodily harm or pain, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement. 

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"Physical helpless" means that a person is unconscious, asleep, or for any other reason physically unable to communicate unwillingness to act.

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"Physically incapacitated" means that a person is bodily impaired or handicapped and substantially limited in his or her ability to resist or flee an act. 

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Any act done for a bona fide medical purpose is not sexual battery.  Of course, whether your actions are considered by law enforcement, a judge, and/or a jury as bona fide medical purpose will be an issue if any sexual battery allegations are made.

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