# Why is this woman not being charged with rape? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161 "2018-07-02T15:14:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/41 "2018-07-02T21:05:38Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > I understood the sarcasm. Arguing about your intentions only serves to deflect attention from the important point that I bolded. I’m really in the dark here. I was called subhuman for posting sarcastically about the misogyny in the OP. Now, by trying to clarify that the intent of the sarcasm was to point out misogyny, I’m deflecting from the real issue, which is that there was misogyny in the OP? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2018, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/42 "2018-07-02T21:14:01Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I was called subhuman for posting sarcastically about the misogyny in the OP. Not even close to what I said. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2018, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/43 "2018-07-02T21:14:02Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Saying “It’s only a joke!” is one of the first things people do when they’re called on something. > > Even discounting that, some jokes are dehumanizing. Some jokes are toxic, in that they contribute to a toxic culture. Rape jokes are definitively in that camp. > > So even if you were joking, you’re someone who tells rape jokes. It wasn’t a joke, and I don’t think it’s funny. Let me be even more clear: that sarcastic statement was intended to be a pretty clear and un-funny accusation of misogyny against the OP. I’m not telling jokes. I think this is serious stuff. I haven’t told a “rape joke” here at all. At all. I’m pissed that the OP thinks that rape convictions are “slam dunks”. I’m pissed that the OP finds the most important part of this story to be his perceived way women get away with rape more than men. My response was a pissed off response. It wasn’t intended to be funny, it was intended to be accusatory. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2018, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/44 "2018-07-02T21:16:19Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Not even close to what I said. > [@Derleth](#): > > Are you being sarcastic or are you absolutely subhuman? It’s so hard to tell anymore. > > Edit: Never mind. Your answer can’t really help your case, as sarcasm like that is proof enough of what you are. I’d say that comes pretty close to calling me subhuman. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/45 "2018-07-02T21:17:05Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I’m not telling jokes. I think this is serious stuff. Then stop with the jokes (yes, sarcasm is a joke) and show some damned compassion for the victim. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/46 "2018-07-02T21:27:53Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Then stop with the jokes (yes, sarcasm is a joke) and show some damned compassion for the victim. No, sarcasm isn’t a joke. I have immense compassion for the victim, both the man in the article in the OP, and rape and assault victims everywhere. But what I don’t have patience or compassion for are OPs that make the thinly-veiled claim that women get away with rape while men don’t. That’s the unfunny joke in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2018, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/47 "2018-07-02T21:34:27Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Are you being sarcastic or are you absolutely subhuman? It’s so hard to tell anymore. > > Edit: Never mind. Your answer can’t really help your case, as sarcasm like that is proof enough of what you are. Feel free to disagree, but do so in a civil manner. The personal insults are uncalled for and not appropriate for this forum. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/48 "2018-07-02T21:39:45Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > But, I was thinking maybe ‘penetration’ defines rape in that jurisdiction. IDK, just a thought. That would be my guess as well. When rape is legally defined as forcing penetration on someone - sometimes further defined as “with a penis and into a vagina,” a whole lot of sexual assault that is commonly called rape, and should be prosecuted as such, falls through the cracks. But they could also be waiting for evidence, or charging her for the crimes they feel likely to get a conviction on and don’t want to put doubt in a jury’s mind (says juror 11 “what red blooded ‘Merican boy wouldn’t want to be jumped by his girlfriend…I’m guessing this whole thing is made up. Nope, not buyin’ it, and not buyin’ the rest of it neither.” But “pscyho bitch girlfriend goes after him with machete” - they might get the jury to go for the psycho bitch.) ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/49 "2018-07-03T00:16:52Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I’m really in the dark here. I was called subhuman for posting sarcastically about the misogyny in the OP. Now, by trying to clarify that the intent of the sarcasm was to point out misogyny, I’m deflecting from the real issue, which is that there was misogyny in the OP? No, I’m sorry I wasn’t clear. My post was aimed at Derleth with these ridiculous accusations against you. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/50 "2018-07-03T00:28:29Z")
In at least some states, she really couldn’t be charged with rape. Under Georgia law, rape (O.C.G. 16-6-1) is specified as follows: > [@](#): > > A person commits the offense of rape when he has carnal knowledge of: > > (1) A female forcibly and against her will; or > > (2) A female who is less than ten years of age. > > Carnal knowledge in rape occurs when there is any penetration of the female sex organ by the male sex organ. The fact that the person allegedly raped is the wife of the defendant shall not be a defense to a charge of rape. Statutory rape (O.C.G. § 16-6-3) does not have this archaic limitation: > [@](#): > > A person commits the offense of statutory rape when he or she engages in sexual intercourse with any person under the age of 16 years and not his or her spouse, provided that no conviction shall be had for this offense on the unsupported testimony of the victim. Aggravated sodomy (O.C.G. § 16-6-2) is also gender-neutral: > [@](#): > > (1) A person commits the offense of sodomy when he or she performs or submits to any sexual act involving the sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another. > (2) A person commits the offense of aggravated sodomy when he or she commits sodomy with force and against the will of the other person or when he or she commits sodomy with a person who is less than ten years of age. The fact that the person allegedly sodomized is the spouse of a defendant shall not be a defense to a charge of aggravated sodomy. (The crime of non-aggravated sodomy can no longer be prosecuted, thanks to both _Lawrence v. Texas_ and a previous Georgia Supreme Court decision.) ---
**Author:** ![K2500](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f6c823/32.png) [@K2500](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K2500)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/51 "2018-07-03T01:10:22Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > In at least some states, she really couldn’t be charged with rape. Under Georgia law, rape (O.C.G. 16-6-1) is specified as follows: > > Statutory rape (O.C.G. § 16-6-3) does not have this archaic limitation: > > Aggravated sodomy (O.C.G. § 16-6-2) is also gender-neutral: > > (The crime of non-aggravated sodomy can no longer be prosecuted, thanks to both _Lawrence v. Texas_ and a previous Georgia Supreme Court decision.) Kinda hard to say she couldn’t be charged. Article said forced sex, but not what kind. Come to think of it I don’t think the article said the words “rape” or “sexual assault” at all and repeatedly referred to the victim as an “aledged” victim. Is this common for female victims as well? That sounds pretty fucking insulting. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/52 "2018-07-03T01:16:48Z")
Yes, in most cases the press will refer to “alleged”. Due process and innocent until proven guilty at work. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/53 "2018-07-03T01:24:03Z")
Yes, it is common terminology. The alleged rapist, the alleged victim- I don’t find it insulting because until there’s a trial, it’s all “alleged.” Virginia may have had something similar on the books at some point, but just looking it up now, Virginia’s rape definition explicitly gender neutral. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/54 "2018-07-03T01:27:41Z")
> [@K2500](#): > > Kinda hard to say she couldn’t be charged. Article said forced sex, but not what kind. > > Come to think of it I don’t think the article said the words “rape” or “sexual assault” at all and repeatedly referred to the victim as an “aledged” victim. Is this common for female victims as well? That sounds pretty fucking insulting. Georgia’s law specifies a male rapist and a female victim, so if this were in Georgia, she could not be charged with rape. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/55 "2018-07-03T01:55:52Z")
> [@K2500](#): > > Come to think of it I don’t think the article said the words “rape” or “sexual assault” at all and repeatedly referred to the victim as an “aledged” victim. Is this common for female victims as well? That sounds pretty fucking insulting. That’s common in any kind of crime reporting, not just sexual assault. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/56 "2018-07-03T02:10:44Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Georgia’s law specifies a male rapist and a female victim, so if this were in Georgia, she could not be charged with rape. Under Georgia law, a woman could be charged with aggravated sodomy if she forced a male victim to either perform or submit to oral sex. The penalties for aggravated sodomy are generally in line with what you would expect of a crime like rape (rape as such is punishable by “death, by imprisonment for life without parole, by imprisonment for life, or by a split sentence that is a term of imprisonment for not less than 25 years and not exceeding life imprisonment, followed by probation for life”; aggravated sodomy is punishable by “imprisonment for life or by a split sentence that is a term of imprisonment for not less than 25 years and not exceeding life imprisonment, followed by probation for life”; IIRC the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty is not constitutional for a sexual assault where the victim is not also murdered). Something like a female-on-male act of non-consensual “pegging” would be punishable as “aggravated sexual battery” (O.G.C. 16-6-22.2): > [@](#): > > A person commits the offense of aggravated sexual battery when he or she intentionally penetrates with a foreign object the sexual organ or anus of another person without the consent of that person. This is punishable by “imprisonment for life or by a split sentence that is a term of imprisonment for not less than 25 years and not exceeding life imprisonment, followed by probation for life”. It would take a weird fact pattern, but in Georgia it’s probably theoretically possible for a woman to commit an act that, morally speaking, ought to be considered rape, but would legally be punishable by a relative wrist-slap. Sexual battery (O.G. C. 16-6-22.1) is defined as follows: > [@](#): > > A person commits the offense of sexual battery when he or she intentionally makes physical contact with the intimate parts of the body of another person without the consent of that person. “Intimate parts” are “the primary genital area, anus, groin, inner thighs, or buttocks of a male or female and the breasts of a female”. Sexual battery (as distinct from aggravated sexual battery) is only a “misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature”. If a machete is involved, our female not-technically-a-rapist should still be facing some pretty serious charges, but I can imagine some bizarre situation involving a man who’s unconscious or something, and a situation where if the genders were reversed it would totally be rape in every sense of the word, but where a woman could therefore get a pretty light sentence. This is hardly a pressing issue or anything, but Georgia’s sex crime laws are undoubtedly in need of a good thorough overhauling anyway (on the books, _consensual_ oral or anal sex between two adults is still allegedly punishable by “imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years”) and when they get around to getting rid of that provision, they might as well give the whole thing a thorough re-write and get rid of the archaic non-gender-neutral language about rape as well. Maybe just call all criminal sexual penetrations “aggravated sexual battery”, and get rid of not only the very archaic term “sodomy” but maybe even the very loaded term “rape” as well. ---
**Author:** ![K2500](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f6c823/32.png) [@K2500](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K2500)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/57 "2018-07-03T02:35:06Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Yes, in most cases the press will refer to “alleged”. Due process and innocent until proven guilty at work. > [@raventhief](#): > > Yes, it is common terminology. The alleged rapist, the alleged victim- I don’t find it insulting because until there’s a trial, it’s all “alleged.” > > Virginia may have had something similar on the books at some point, but just looking it up now, Virginia’s rape definition explicitly gender neutral. > [@Miller](#): > > That’s common in any kind of crime reporting, not just sexual assault. That’s understandable. I guess it just seemed like excessive minimization. I’ll probably go read a few crime story’s to get a better feel for it. > [@MEBuckner](#): > > Under Georgia law, a woman could be charged with aggravated sodomy if she forced a male victim to either perform or submit to oral sex. The penalties for aggravated sodomy are generally in line with what you would expect of a crime like rape (rape as such is punishable by “death, by imprisonment for life without parole, by imprisonment for life, or by a split sentence that is a term of imprisonment for not less than 25 years and not exceeding life imprisonment, followed by probation for life”; aggravated sodomy is punishable by “imprisonment for life or by a split sentence that is a term of imprisonment for not less than 25 years and not exceeding life imprisonment, followed by probation for life”; IIRC the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty is not constitutional for a sexual assault where the victim is not also murdered). Something like a female-on-male act of non-consensual “pegging” would be punishable as “aggravated sexual battery” (O.G.C. 16-6-22.2): > > This is punishable by “imprisonment for life or by a split sentence that is a term of imprisonment for not less than 25 years and not exceeding life imprisonment, followed by probation for life”. > > It would take a weird fact pattern, but in Georgia it’s probably theoretically possible for a woman to commit an act that, morally speaking, ought to be considered rape, but would legally be punishable by a relative wrist-slap. Sexual battery (O.G. C. 16-6-22.1) is defined as follows: > > “Intimate parts” are “the primary genital area, anus, groin, inner thighs, or buttocks of a male or female and the breasts of a female”. Sexual battery (as distinct from aggravated sexual battery) is only a “misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature”. > > If a machete is involved, our female not-technically-a-rapist should still be facing some pretty serious charges, but I can imagine some bizarre situation involving a man who’s unconscious or something, and a situation where if the genders were reversed it would totally be rape in every sense of the word, but where a woman could therefore get a pretty light sentence. > > This is hardly a pressing issue or anything, but Georgia’s sex crime laws are undoubtedly in need of a good thorough overhauling anyway (on the books, _consensual_ oral or anal sex between two adults is still allegedly punishable by “imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years”) and when they get around to getting rid of that provision, they might as well give the whole thing a thorough re-write and get rid of the archaic non-gender-neutral language about rape as well. Maybe just call all criminal sexual penetrations “aggravated sexual battery”, and get rid of not only the very archaic term “sodomy” but maybe even the very loaded term “rape” as well. > [@raventhief](#): > > Georgia’s law specifies a male rapist and a female victim, so if this were in Georgia, she could not be charged with rape. My line of thinking was as MEBuckner described as far as aggravated sodomy charges. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/58 "2018-07-03T02:43:24Z")
Sorry, I misunderstood. I was simply agreeing with the MEBuckner’s system that she couldn’t be changed with _rape_ under Georgia law. We have no idea of any details that might make her eligible to be charged with aggravated sodomy. At least, not that I’m aware of. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/59 "2018-07-03T04:03:20Z")
**Quartz** - we are discussing this matter over [here](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21060883), if you’d like to join us. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161/60 "2018-07-03T09:24:43Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’m having a hard time imagining why anyone would care. Maybe she was, maybe she wasn’t. In any event, it sounds like there were a ton of serious charges levied against her. I assume the prosecutor had his/her reasons. Does it matter? Yes it does. Equality cuts all ways. If a man would be charged with rape so should a woman. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-woman-not-being-charged-with-rape/817161.md?page=4)