CALIFORNIA : Rape/Molestation Statutes of Limitation
In the state of California, a person commits rape if he engages in sexual activity:
1. with someone who is incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent, and this is known or reasonably should be known to the person committing the act.
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, or any controlled substance, and this condition was known, or reasonably should have been known by the accused.
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 the victim's spouse, and this belief is induced by any artifice, pretense, or concealment practiced by the accused, with intent to induce the belief (i.e., a stranger gets into bed with a woman while it's dark and pretends to be her spouse for the purposes of having sex with her).
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, and there is a reasonable possibility that the perpetrator will execute the threat. As used in this paragraph, threatening to retaliate" means a threat to kidnap or falsely imprison, or to inflict extreme pain, serious bodily injury, or death.
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, and the victim has a reasonable belief that the perpetrator is a public official. As used in this paragraph, "public official" means a person employed by a governmental agency who has the authority, as part of that position, to incarcerate, arrest, or deport another. The perpetrator does not actually have to be a public official.
Unlawful sexual intercourse is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person who is not the spouse of the perpetrator, if the person is a minor. For the purposes of this section, a "minor" is a person under the age of 18 years and an "adult" is a person who is at least 18 years of age.
1. Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than three years younger than the perpetrator is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison.
2. Any person 21 years of age or older who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is under 16 years of age is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years.
Rape and unlawful sexual intercourse may all be punished by three, six, or eight years in state prison. The statute of limitations for felonies punishable by eight or more years in prison is ten (10) years from the date of commission.
Bob rapes Jane. Since his crime is punishable by eight (8) or more years in prison, Jane has ten (10) years after the incident occurred within which Bob can still be tried for the crime.
Felonies punishable by less than eight years may be prosecuted up to three (3) years after the date of commission.
Bob has unlawful sexual intercourse with Jane while she is a minor. Since his crime is not punishable by more than eight (8) years in prison, Jane has three (3) years from the date of the occurence to report the crime so that Bob may be tried for it.
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