Maryland Rape Defense Lawyer
Maryland Rape Defense Lawyer
Criminal charges for rape or sexual assault can mean years in jail. With mandatory minimum sentences in effect for the most serious degrees of this crime, defendants could face at least 25 years in prison. Even lower degrees of rape and sexual assault offenses can result in years of incarceration.
If you have been accused of rape or another sexual offense, our lawyers can help you fight the charges against you and protect your rights by challenging the prosecution’s evidence and whether what they accused you of doing actually meets the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. We can also, when appropriate and possible, argue for a reduced sentence or reduced charges, taking into account that the conduct in some of the sexual assault statutes in Maryland might overlap.
For a free review of your case, call our rape defense lawyers today at Rice, Murtha & Psoras by dialing (410) 694-7291.
Illegal Conduct Under Maryland’s Rape Laws
Different statutes criminalize different conduct – known as the “actus reus” in legal terms. Under Maryland law, we have three criminal acts that are criminalized under different statutes:
Penetrative Sex
Md. Code, Crim. Art., § 3-303 and § 3-304, along with some subsections of other statutes, criminalize “rape,” which is a crime involving penetrative sex. Maryland law describes this as “vaginal intercourse or a sexual act,” defined under § 3-301 to include other penetrative sex acts involving anal or oral sex or penetration by an object or another body part.
What this means is that if nothing entered anyone’s body parts, there can be no charge for “rape.” In conversation or discussion around these crimes, the phrase “sexual assault” might be used instead, but it is important to understand what specific acts are being discussed, as that can change what crime is appropriate to charge.
Additionally, § 3-303 rape offenses require the use of force, threats, or other similar conduct, but other sections and subsections of these crimes discussed below charge defendants for nonconsensual penetration without force.
Sexual Contact
There are two other “sexual offense” crimes under § 3-307 and § 3-308. The illegal act for these crimes is usually “sexual contact” rather than penetrative sex. This means this crime is aimed at other conduct, such as the touching of an “intimate area” or a person’s genitals done “for sexual arousal” or for abuse.
This is usually aimed at what could be described as “groping” or “molesting” or “sexually assaulting” another person, and these terms are often used interchangeably. However, there are some subsections of these statutes that apply to penetrative sex – what is discussed above as “rape” – that is committed without force. Therefore, it is important to look at the specific subsection you are being charged with, as the acts do not line up 100% with the names of the crimes.
If there was no penetration, these are usually the more appropriate statutes to be charged under, and our rape defense lawyers can seek to have charges reduced simply by challenging whether the crime is charged under the right section of the code.
Attempted Rape
Under § 3-309 and § 3-310, the conduct for a crime of “attempted rape” is quite simply described as an “attempt to commit rape,” but it is important to understand how courts figure out when where the line is between legal actions and attempted rape.
Generally speaking, an attempt needs the same motive and intent to commit the underlying act, and there usually has to also be a “substantial step” toward committing the crime. This might include something like forcibly tearing the victim’s clothing or drugging them with common “date rape” drugs.
However, it should be difficult for a prosecutor to convince a jury that something ordinary is a “substantial step.” For example, picking up an alleged victim in your car, going somewhere private with them, or consensually touching them is unlikely to be valid grounds for attempted rape charges. The bar for what constitutes attempted rape must be high, or else consensual activity would become criminalized.
Other Elements and Penalties for Rape Charges in Maryland
Charges come under different sections of the code and fall into different categories like “rape” or “sexual offense” depending on whether there is sexual penetration or not. However, the code sections do not line up cleanly with these acts, and the same conduct can be charged under a different statute with a different name depending on whether or not certain elements are met.
Penalties are also higher for rape charges than for sexual offense charges. However, even within the same statute, penalties can be raised if the charge includes victims of a certain age or if the defendant is a repeat offender.
§ 3-303 – Rape in the First Degree
Charges for rape in the first degree are the most serious rape charges and require that the sexual acts committed were done with force, threats or violence, use of a weapon, strangulation, or serious injury. Additionally, if the rape was committed with help from someone else or during a burglary, it would be charged as first-degree rape. The point here is to charge defendants with rape under this statute only when their conduct is egregious. Most cases will not meet this standard, and this charge would be inappropriate in most cases.
The base penalties for this crime include a period of incarceration up to life imprisonment – which still allows for the possibility of parole down the line. However, there are additional elements that can increase the penalties. If the victim of severe forcible rape was under 16 years old or this is the defendant’s second conviction, the penalty can be life without parole, revoking any chance of early release. If the victim of forcible rape was under 13, there is a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison for the defendant, and life without parole is on the table.
In many cases, the conduct under subsection (a) of this statute – forcible rape without strangulation, use of a weapon, or other aggravating factors – overlaps quite a bit with subsection (a) of the Rape in the Second Degree statute, allowing our rape defense lawyers to argue that your charges should come under that lower-level statute instead.
§ 3-304 – Rape in the Second Degree
Second-degree rape still applies to penetration by force, potentially allowing charges to be reduced to rape in the second degree. Alternatively, rape can also be second-degree if there was no force but the victim had something preventing them from being able to give consent.
This crime usually applies to cases where the victim was mentally impaired, “physically helpless,” or incapacitated. This covers things like a victim with a cognitive disability, a victim who has been drugged, a black-out-drunk victim, or someone in a medical crisis or coma. Any time the victim is physically or mentally unable to give consent, sex with them is a crime under this section.
Additionally, this statute criminalizes sex with someone who cannot consent because of their age – commonly referred to as “statutory rape.” Namely, it applies when the victim is under 14 and the defendant is at least 4 years older. Note that in this situation, the offense might otherwise involve a willing participant, but they cannot legally consent because of their age, so it is illegal. Also note that this is not the only statutory rape offense; the “sexual offense” crimes below also cover this same “statutory rape” conduct.
The base penalty for this offense is up to 20 years in prison. There is a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison if the rape involved force or an incapacitated/helpless victim, the victim was under 13 years old, and the defendant was an adult.
Other Sexual Offenses (§§ 3-307 and 3-308)
Crimes under §§ 3-307 and 3-308 can be charged for sexual contact. The crime of sexual contact with an adult must involve some additional force like use of a weapon, strangulation, or help from another party to come under § 3-307’s third-degree charges. The penalty for this crime is imprisonment up to 10 years. This crime also applies to sexual contact with someone under 14 when the defendant is at least 4 years older. If there was no force involved but the contact was still nonconsensual, that should be charged under § 3-308 as a fourth-degree sexual offense and result in up to a year in prison and/or a fine up to $1,000.
However, there are also a few situations where sexual penetration can be charged here instead, usually due to issues with age.
This is also referred to as “statutory rape,” with charges issuing as sexual offense in the third degree when the victim is 14 or 15, but the defendant is at least 21 years old. This results in up to 10 years in prison under § 3-307. If the defendant is at least 4 years older than the 14- or 15-year-old victim, the fourth-degree offense involves up to a $1,000 fine and prison up to 1 year. This is also the case if the defendant was an employee at the victim’s school and the victim was under 18.
Repeat fourth-degree offenses increase the prison sentence to a potential 3 years in prison.
Attempted Rape
Attempted rape in the first degree is punished by up to life imprisonment and attempted rape in the second degree leads to a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Call Our Rape Defense Lawyers in Maryland for Help with Your Case
If you were accused of or charged with a rape or sexual assault offense, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291.