Rape is normally thought of as occurring whenever there is force or a threat of force; however, that idea is slowly changing to include instances of fraud as well. Although Texas currently does not have any laws in the Texas Penal Code preventing rape by fraud or deception, there is a growing movement that claims this might actually be necessary in the future.
When an individual lies about his or her status, position or background in order to encourage another person to willingly have sex, some jurisdictions consider this to be “rape by fraud.” In making this designation, lawmakers have determined that had the other party been aware of the truth, consent would not have been given. Those who later find out they have been the victim of such scams often feel wronged and suffer from emotional trauma as a result.
In some states, rape by fraud does not have to actually involve sexual intercourse crimes. Some things that could also be considered rape by fraud include:
Another way rape by fraud could happen would be whenever an underage “victim” solicits another to perform sexual intercourse in an effort to cause him or her to commit statutory rape. Statutory rape is one of the few crimes of strict liability, which means that it does not matter whether or not an individual knows the other party is under age.
Teenagers sometimes post profiles on online dating sites that are intended for adults only, and then portray themselves to be of age. After having sex with an interested party, that person then is in the precarious predicament of facing statutory rape charges, simply because he or she was deceived. Those in favor of a rape by fraud law claim this would help protect innocent people from facing charges when they have not actually committed any wrongdoing at all.
The future of a rape by fraud law in Texas is uncertain at the moment. While there are a number of lawmakers who would like to see such a statute passed, there is currently not enough interest in it to make doing so a priority. Since there are a number of other states that are beginning to recognize this concept, this could mean that Texas would eventually come on board and enact such a law for itself.
Sex crime laws can be very confusing and hard to understand. If you need help interpreting the law, or would like your rights defended, then give Brett A. Podolsky a call today at 713.227.0087.
