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Forcible Rape Charges in Missouri

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  • 09-21-2018, 01:11 PM
    jrmo
    Forcible Rape Charges in Missouri
    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Missouri

    My wife recently visited her high school and had a breakdown shortly after, she shared that she had sex with a boy one class younger than her in 2002, she was 17 and he was 16. She described it as a group dinner at a restaurant then the group of friends went to one of the girls home. While at the house the kids started drinking, and she was served several vodka shots by a young man.

    My wife had never drank alcohol prior to this, nor since. She said she doesn’t remember much else other than the boy taking her pants of and him putting a condom on. She said she never wanted to have sex and wasn’t that type of girl. The next day when she woke up she felt terrible and ashamed and blamed herself for getting drunk. She repressed the event and never spoke to anyone about it until now in 2018. She also stated the boy proceeded to ignore her for the remaining of the school year (they never dated before or after the night of dinner and sex). As we have spoken about this event, I feel like it should be classified as Forcible Rape.

    Our question is would this actually hold water in the legal system, and would a prosecutor be likely to do something with this charge as it is 16 yrs old? Secondly if the prosecutor wouldn’t do anything do we have any grounds for emotional damage/distress? Does Missouri have any limits on Civil Charges in a case like this?
  • 09-21-2018, 01:19 PM
    PayrolGuy
    Re: Forcable Rape in Missouri
    Well past the Statute of Limitations for a civil lawsuit.

    https://www.expertlaw.com/library/li.../Missouri.html

    This link says 2 years for intentional misconduct (which would have started on her 18th birthday I think).
  • 09-21-2018, 01:24 PM
    pg1067
    Re: Forcable Rape in Missouri
    Quote:

    Quoting jrmo
    View Post
    Our question is would this actually hold water in the legal system, and would a prosecutor be likely to do something with this charge as it is 16 yrs old?

    No one here can intelligently predict what an unknown prosecutor would or wouldn't do, but consider the following:

    Let's say your wife reports the matter. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume she has no evidence of what happened other than her testimony. Not only was your wife admittedly drunk, but the event in question happened 16 years ago.

    Now let's say that someone decides to go talk with the boy involved. What do you think he's going to say about what happened? Maybe he denies that any sex occurred at all. Maybe he's stupid and admits that the sex occurred but says your wife was lucid and consented. Maybe he says that your wife was the one who initiated the sex and that he, as the younger student, felt he had no choice but to go along with it -- i.e., that your wife raped him and not the other way around.

    So...unless this guy for some reason admits to a forcible rape (and I think we can both agree that's not going to happen), what do you think a prosecutor is going to do with something like this that's nothing more than one person's word against another?

    Quote:

    Quoting jrmo
    View Post
    do we have any grounds for emotional damage/distress? Does Missouri have any limits on Civil Charges in a case like this?

    First, there's no "we." I assume you didn't even know your wife at the time. Second, yes, there's a statute of limitations, and it has long since expired.

    The only realistic thing for your wife to do at this point is to seek treatment from a mental health professional.
  • 09-21-2018, 01:26 PM
    jrmo
    Re: Forcable Rape in Missouri
    Missouri doesn't have a Statute of Limitations on forcible rape for criminal charges, so are you saying the Civil Charges couldn't be brought after age 23?

    Is there not a clause that brings the emotional distress of current day to light? (Hasn't anyone followed the Bill Cosby case?)
  • 09-21-2018, 01:29 PM
    PayrolGuy
    Re: Forcable Rape in Missouri
    Yes I was talking about the civil case and the links I pointed to you are the civil case.

    As for criminal charges, think about it. Her one witness, herself, was drunk. There is no other evidence. That said you may well have a local prosecutor that goes after this sort of cases with the intent to shame more than convict.
  • 09-21-2018, 01:34 PM
    jrmo
    Re: Forcable Rape in Missouri
    Thanks for the information. Unfortunately it looks like this guy is the type that never has had to pay for his actions and she is now sorrowful that she didn't come forward sooner and maybe other girls wouldn't have been used like she was.
  • 09-21-2018, 01:41 PM
    jrmo
    Re: Forcable Rape in Missouri
    There were two other girls in the basement and one was not drinking, and knows of the events that took place.
  • 09-21-2018, 01:56 PM
    pg1067
    Re: Forcable Rape in Missouri
    Quote:

    Quoting jrmo
    View Post
    There were two other girls in the basement and one was not drinking, and knows of the events that took place.

    Ok...so you've spoken with these "two other girls" such that you know what they know and what they recall all these years after the fact? Are they willing to testify voluntarily or are they still living in the area such that they're subject to being compelled by supboena to testify?

    Bottom line: Your wife is free to contact the police and/or the local prosecutor and report what happened. Likewise, she's free to consult with a local attorney. If she wants to sue the person she claims raped her (does she even know where he is?), she (and you) will probably have to pay a lawyer a rather hefty retainer because I doubt any lawyer is going to take a case like this on contingency). As I said initially, no one here is in any position to know how the police or a prosecutor might react, much less how a criminal or civil case might turn out. All we can do is point out the obvious problems with a case such as you have described.
  • 09-21-2018, 02:02 PM
    PayrolGuy
    Re: Forcable Rape in Missouri
    Quote:

    Quoting EJay
    View Post
    16 years ago two high school kids, both under the age of 18 with a difference in age of 1 year, got drunk and had sex. No prosecutor is going to prosecute that, even if it was within the limitation. It sounds like the experience has been traumatic for your wife. Perhaps she can seek closure some other way, maybe through counseling or maybe even by talking with person involved.

    The Bill Cosby case was much different than this.

    EJay, that is the best advice you have given on this forum and it had nothing to do with traffic tickets.
  • 09-21-2018, 02:08 PM
    hr for me
    Re: Forcable Rape in Missouri
    have to agree with the others....and yes, I have been in a situation where I was assaulted, did call the police, etc. But it was a stranger and they never found him, so there was never a prosecution there either. For 28+years, I've dealt with it and gotten help/counseling and live a pretty normal life. If your wife is still experiencing issues, I highly suggest she get therapy/help/counseling. She may think a prosecution now will do something for her, but I can almost guarantee it won't. And as other said, it is going to be virtually impossible to prove especially if she told no one at the time. And even then it would be tough this much later.

    What Mr Cosby had against him were multiple allegations over a long time period (if I understand it correctly) and that possibility that he drugged them unbeknownst to them, not that they had made a bad choice of downing shots.

    I truly feel for your wife that she has carried this for so many years. At some point though it is in her best interests to deal with it through therapy/counseling rather than the courts at this juncture.
  • 09-21-2018, 02:10 PM
    jrmo
    Re: Forcable Rape in Missouri
    hr for me - Thanks for your personal advice, this came about several weeks ago and doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon.
  • 09-21-2018, 08:06 PM
    Mercy&Grace
    Re: Forcable Rape in Missouri
    Unless this man has a history of assaulting women. I do not see any prosecutor believing prosecuting this case would be a wise use of resources. You have no way of knowing if evidence presented. Would be enough for a particular crime. You do not know how to interpret the evidence or the law. But, lets say a prosecutor went ahead with the case. Do you or she have any idea the trauma a trial can cause ? Having it played out in the media. The defense attorney trying to make it look like your wife was,the one that did something wrong ? None of this would go away after the trail. No matter the verdict. It would be on the internet, in newspapers archives in your local library, etc forever. Not to mention in the back of the publics minds. Things would come out your wife prefers be kept private. Do you have children? Would your wife mind your children reading the slanted medias view points ?

    The above things are all things your wife would have to carefully weight. Your opinions and feelings do not matter. Your wife needs to contact a Rape Crisis Center in your area. They might be able to suggest a mental health professional that deals in cases like hers. Some centers have counselors trained to work with victims of sexual assualt.
  • 09-26-2018, 09:40 AM
    jrmo
    Re: Forcable Rape in Missouri
    Thanks to all that have provided legitimate input. I'm not sure what the next step will be for my wife, but it is clear if this dirt bag ever runs for office we will get a change to throw mud. How is it that it has become the "norm" for a young man to treat girls this way? Am I blind or was I just raised differently? How do we stop the sexual sin against young women and get boys be respectful?
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