Rape Resulting in or Committed With Acts Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury

Perhaps no allegation is more difficult for someone to endure than a rape indictment. And if the accusation is that the rape resulted in serious bodily injury you are going to need the best lawyer you can find. You need to hire an attorney with years of experience in defending sexual assault cases and with a track record of success. The Law Offices of Stephen Neyman, PC is that firm.

Rape that results in or is committed with acts resulting in serious bodily injury is aggravated rape under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 22 (a). To convict a defendant of rape that results in or is committed with acts resulting in serious bodily injury, the prosecutor must prove both of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. The defendant committed rape. To satisfy this element, the prosecutor must prove that the defendant,
   1. had sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse with a person.“Sexual intercourse” means penetration of the female organ. “Penetration” does not require intrusion into the vagina, and it can be shown through evidence that the male organ touched the labia or vulva. “Unnatural sexual intercourse” includes oral and anal intercourse and other intrusions of a person’s body part or an object into the genital or anal opening of another person’s body.
   2. compelled that person to submit to the intercourse by force and against that person’s will or by threat of bodily injury. Force may be physical force, but the conduct, appearance or words of a defendant as he presented himself to the alleged victim may also establish force. A threat of bodily harm may be explicit, but it may also be implicit in the defendant’s acts or words. The prosecutor must always also prove that the intercourse was against the will of the alleged victim, whether he proceeds on a theory of force or threat of bodily injury.
2. The rape resulted in a serious bodily injury ; or The rape was committed with acts resulting in a serious bodily injury.

A serious bodily injury is an injury that creates a substantial risk of death, causes serious permanent disfigurement, or causes prolonged loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ. Bodily injuries that only cause physical pain, illness or impairment of a physical condition do not constitute “serious bodily injuries.” In Massachusetts the bodily injury does not have to occur during the rape. It can occur afterwards to satisfy this statute provided the beating was part of the same course of criminal conduct.

If you are convicted of this form of aggravated rape, you face imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any term of years. As a practical matter, most people convicted of this charge end up serving substantial state prison sentences. Rarely are they paroled before their “wrap up date”. The Massachusetts cases addressing this crime are replete with fact patterns of tremendous violence. It is not uncommon for people convicted of this crime receive double digit sentences.

If you have been charged with aggravated rape, it is essential that you contact an experienced criminal defense attorney immediately. The highly-accomplished attorneys at the Law Offices of Stephen Neyman, P.C. can provide you with the powerful defense you will need to fight this charge. Call us today at 617-263-6800 or  contact us online.