State legislation that aims to strengthen rape statutes is one step closer to becoming a reality. On May 9, the Assembly unanimously approved AB 765, a bill introduced by Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian (R-San Luis Obispo) and championed by Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley.
If passed, the bill will clarify that an attacker who coerces a victim into sexual activity by impersonating the victim’s live-in girlfriend or boyfriend can be prosecuted for felony rape. Under existing law, the attacker can only be charged with felony rape if the victim lives with a spouse and consents to sex under the belief that the attacker is his or her spouse.
According to information from the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, the bill was instigated by a recent case in which a man broke into a local woman’s home and initiated sexual activity with her while she was sleeping in her bedroom. At first, the victim assumed the attacker was her live-in boyfriend and consented to intercourse. Upon realizing the attacker wasn’t her boyfriend, the woman resisted and her attacker fled.
The suspect was caught, but the District Attorney couldn’t prosecute him for felony rape due to the fact that the victim lived with a boyfriend rather than a husband.
“I am deeply grateful to Assemblyman Achadjian for his courage and leadership in seeking justice for countless victims of rape by fraud. I am also extremely appreciative that the Assembly took a significant step today in recognizing the importance of AB 765 by affirming that our rape laws should not treat married and unmarried victims differently,” Dudley said in a statement.
Assembly Bill 765 now moves to the State Senate for consideration.
This article appears in May 12-19, 2011.