NY Penal Law § 13025 Rape in the Third Degree.

You have committed the sex crime of rape in the third degree under the New York Penal Code section 130.25 if you act in any of the following ways:

• Conduct sexual intercourse with someone who was not capable of consenting to it,
• Are 21 years old or older and you engage in sexual intercourse with a person who is under the age of 17, or
• Conduct sexual intercourse with a person without that person's consent

Absense of consent signifies that the sexual act was forced. Even if the other individual seems like they consented, if under the law that individual lacks the capacity to consent, then consent cannot be established and you could find yourself under prosecution for rape in the third degree. The victim ais said to be incapable of consenting if he or she is under 17 years old, suffers from a mental illness, suffers from a mental incapacity, or is physically disabled.

For Example

A 30 year old man meets a 16 year old girl at a party. Later that evening the two engage in sexual conduct. They continue a dating relationship and engage in sexual intercourse frequently over a period of time. Even if the man never physically forced the girl to have sex with him, he is still in commission of the crime of rape in the third degree due to the age of the girl - under 17 years old. Therefore, she lacked the legal capacity to consent to sex.

Offenses that are Related