Kenneth Vercammen is a Middlesex County Trial Attorney who has published 130 articles in national and New Jersey publications on Criminal Law, Probate, Estate and litigation topics.

He was awarded the NJ State State Bar Municipal Court Practitioner of the Year.

He lectures and handles criminal cases, Municipal Court, DWI, traffic and other litigation matters.

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Tuesday, December 11, 2018

What is rape in NJ and sexual assault? 2C:14-2 Sexual assault

What is rape in NJ and sexual assault? 2C:14-2 Sexual assault


What is rape in NJ and sexual assault?2C:14-2 Sexualassault
New Jersey calls rape a sexual assault. Below are the NJ statutes on sexual assault. Below are the NJ statutes on sexual assault
More information on website www.njlaws.com
2C:14-2 width=12Sexualwidth=12 width=12assaultwidth=12. width=322C:14-2. width=12Sexualwidth=12 width=12assaultwidth=12. a. An actor is guilty of aggravated width=12sexualwidth=12 width=12assaultwidth=12 if he commits an act of width=12sexualwidth=12penetration with another person under any one of the following circumstances: width=32
(1)width=32The victim is less than 13 years old; width=32
(2)width=32The victim is at least 13 but less than 16 years old; and width=32(a)width=32The actor is related to the victim by blood or affinity to the third degree, or width=32
(b)width=32The actor has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of the actors legal, professional, or occupational status, or width=32(c)width=32The actor is a resource family parent, a guardian, or stands in loco parentis within the household; width=32
(3)width=32The act is committed during the commission, or attempted commission, whether alone or with one or more other persons, of robbery, kidnapping, homicide, aggravated width=12assaultwidth=12 on another, burglary, arson or criminal escape; width=32(
4)width=32The actor is armed with a weapon or any object fashioned in such a manner as to lead the victim to reasonably believe it to be a weapon and threatens by word or gesture to use the weapon or object; width=32
(5)width=32The actor is aided or abetted by one or more other persons and the actor uses physical force or coercion; width=32
(6)width=32The actor uses physical force or coercion and severe personal injury is sustained by the victim; width=32
(7)width=32The victim is one whom the actor knew or should have known was physically helpless or incapacitated, intellectually or mentally incapacitated, or had a mental disease or defect which rendered the victim temporarily or permanently incapable of understanding the nature of his conduct, including, but not limited to, being incapable of providing consent. width=32
Aggravated width=12sexualwidth=12 width=12assaultwidth=12 is a crime of the first degree. width=32Except as otherwise provided in subsection d. of this section, a person convicted under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be sentenced to a specific term of years which shall be fixed by the court and shall be between 25 years and life imprisonment of which the person shall serve 25 years before being eligible for parole, unless a longer term of parole ineligibility is otherwise provided pursuant to this Title. width=32b.width=32An actor is guilty of width=12sexualwidth=12 width=12assaultwidth=12 if he commits an act of width=12sexualwidth=12 contact with a victim who is less than 13 years old and the actor is at least four years older than the victim. 
width=32c.width=32An actor is guilty of width=12sexualwidth=12 width=12assaultwidth=12 if he commits an act of width=12sexualwidth=12penetration with another person under any one of the following circumstances: width=32
(1)width=32The actor uses physical force or coercion, but the victim does not sustain severe personal injury; width=32
(2)width=32The victim is on probation or parole, or is detained in a hospital, prison or other institution and the actor has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of the actors legal, professional or occupational status; width=32(3)width=32The victim is at least 16 but less than 18 years old and: width=32(a)width=32The actor is related to the victim by blood or affinity to the third degree; or width=32(b)width=32The actor has supervisory or disciplinary power of any nature or in any capacity over the victim; or width=32(c)width=32The actor is a resource family parent, a guardian, or stands in loco parentis within the household; width=32(4)width=32The victim is at least 13 but less than 16 years old and the actor is at least four years older than the victim. width=32width=12Sexualwidth=12 width=12assaultwidth=12 is a crime of the second degree. width=32d.width=32Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of this section, where a defendant is charged with a violation under paragraph (1) of subsection a. of this section, the prosecutor, in consideration of the interests of the victim, may offer a negotiated plea agreement in which the defendant would be sentenced to a specific term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years, during which the defendant shall not be eligible for parole. In such event, the court may accept the negotiated plea agreement and upon such conviction shall impose the term of imprisonment and period of parole ineligibility as provided for in the plea agreement, and may not impose a lesser term of imprisonment or parole or a lesser period of parole ineligibility than that expressly provided in the plea agreement. The Attorney General shall develop guidelines to ensure the uniform exercise of discretion in making determinations regarding a negotiated reduction in the term of imprisonment and period of parole ineligibility set forth in subsection a. of this section. width=32amended 1979, c.178, s.26; 1983, c.249, s.2; 1989, c.228, s.3; 1997, c.194, s.1; 2001, c.60; 2004, c.130, s.13; 2011, c.232, s.4; 2013, c.214, s.3; 2014, c.7, s.1.
2C:14-1 Definitions in sexual assault cases. width=322C:14-1. Definitions. The following definitions apply to this chapter: width=32a.width=32Actor means a person accused of an offense proscribed under this act; width=32b.width=32Victim means a person alleging to have been subjected to offenses proscribed by this act; width=32c.width=32Sexual penetration means vaginal intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio or anal intercourse between persons or insertion of the hand, finger or object into the anus or vagina either by the actor or upon the actors instruction. The depth of insertion shall not be relevant as to the question of commission of the crime; width=32d.width=32Sexual contact means an intentional touching by the victim or actor, either directly or through clothing, of the victims or actors intimate parts for the purpose of degrading or humiliating the victim or sexually arousing or sexually gratifying the actor. Sexual contact of the actor with himself must be in view of the victim whom the actor knows to be present; width=32e.width=32Intimate parts means the following body parts: sexual organs, genital area, anal area, inner thigh, groin, buttock or breast of a person; width=32f.width=32Severe personal injury means severe bodily injury, disfigurement, disease, incapacitating mental anguish or chronic pain; width=32g.width=32Physically helpless means that condition in which a person is unconscious or is physically unable to flee or is physically unable to communicate unwillingness to act; width=32h.width=32(Deleted by amendment, P.L.2011, c.232) width=32i.width=32Mentally incapacitated means that condition in which a person is rendered temporarily incapable of understanding or controlling his conduct due to the influence of a narcotic, anesthetic, intoxicant, or other substance administered to that person without his prior knowledge or consent, or due to any other act committed upon that person which rendered that person incapable of appraising or controlling his conduct; width=32j.width=32Coercion as used in this chapter shall refer to those acts which are defined as criminal coercion in section 2C:13-5(1), (2), (3), (4), (6) and (7). width=32amended 1983, c.249, s.1; 1989, c.228, s.2; 2011, c.232, s.3.
2C:14-2.1. Victims rights in sexual assault cases-Victim of width=12sexualwidth=12 width=12assaultwidth=12 may consult with prosecutor on plea negotiations width=321.width=32Whenever there is a prosecution for a violation of N.J.S.A.2C:14-2, the victim of the width=12sexualwidth=12 width=12assaultwidth=12 shall be provided an opportunity to consult with the prosecuting authority prior to the conclusion of any plea negotiations. width=32Nothing contained herein shall be construed to alter or limit the authority or discretion of the prosecutor to enter into any plea agreement which the prosecutor deems appropriate. width=32L.2003,c.137. 
2C:14-3 Aggravated criminal sexual contact; criminal sexual contact width=32a. An actor is guilty of aggravated criminal sexual contact if he commits an act of sexual contact with the victim under any of the circumstances set forth in 2C:14-2a. (2) through(7). width=32Aggravated criminal sexual contact is a crime of the third degree. width=32b. An actor is guilty of criminal sexual contact if he commits an act of sexual contact with the victim under any of the circumstances set forth in section 2C:14-2c. (1) through(4). width=32Criminal sexual contact is a crime of the fourth degree. width=32 L.1978, c.95; amended 1979, c.178, s.27; 1997, c.194, s.2.
2C:14-5. Provisions generally applicable to Chapter 14 a. The prosecutor shall not be required to offer proof that the victim resisted, or resisted to the utmost, or reasonably resisted the width=12sexualwidth=12 width=12assaultwidth=12 in any offense proscribed by this chapter.

 b. No actor shall be presumed to be incapable of committing a crime under this chapter because of age or impotency or marriage to the victim.

 c. It shall be no defense to a prosecution for a crime under this chapter that the actor believed the victim to be above the age stated for the offense, even if such a mistaken belief was reasonable.

 L.1978, c. 95, s. 2C:14-5, eff. Sept. 1, 1979. 2C:14-6. Sentencing If a person is convicted of a second or subsequent offense under sections 2C:14-2 or 2C:14-3a., the sentence imposed under those sections for the second or subsequent offense shall, unless the person is sentenced pursuant to the provisions of 2C:43-7, include a fixed minimum sentence of not less than 5 years during which the defendant shall not be eligible for parole. The court may not suspend or make any other non-custodial disposition of any person sentenced as a second or subsequent offender pursuant to this section. For the purpose of this section an offense is considered a second or subsequent offense, if the actor has at any time been convicted under sections 2C:14-2 or 2C:14-3a. or under any similar statute of the United States, this state, or any other state for an offense that is substantially equivalent to sections 2C:14-2 or 2C:14-3a.

 L.1978, c. 95, s. 2C:14-6, eff. Sept. 1, 1979.
2C:14-7 Victims previous sexual conduct; manner of dress. width=322C:14-7. a. In prosecutions for aggravated width=12sexualwidth=12 width=12assault,, width=12sexualwidth=12 width=12assaultwidth=12, aggravated criminal width=12sexualwidth=12contact, criminal width=12sexualwidth=12 contact, human trafficking involving width=12sexualwidth=12 activity, endangering the welfare of a child in violation of N.J.S.2C:24-4, or the fourth degree crime of lewdness in violation of subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:14-4, evidence of the victims previous width=12sexualwidth=12 conduct shall not be admitted nor reference made to it in the presence of the jury except as provided in this section. When the defendant seeks to admit such evidence for any purpose, the defendant must apply for an order of the court before the trial or preliminary hearing, except that the court may allow the motion to be made during trial if the court determines that the evidence is newly discovered and could not have been obtained earlier through the exercise of due diligence. After the application is made, the court shall conduct a hearing in camera to determine the admissibility of the evidence. If the court finds that evidence offered by the defendant regarding the width=12sexualwidth=12 conduct of the victim is relevant and highly material and meets the requirements of subsections c. and d. of this section and that the probative value of the evidence offered substantially outweighs its collateral nature or the probability that its admission will create undue prejudice, confusion of the issues, or unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the victim, the court shall enter an order setting forth with specificity what evidence may be introduced and the nature of the questions which shall be permitted, and the reasons why the court finds that such evidence satisfies the standards contained in this section. The defendant may then offer evidence under the order of the court. width=32
b.width=32In the absence of clear and convincing proof to the contrary, evidence of the victims width=12sexualwidth=12conduct occurring more than one year before the date of the offense charged is presumed to be inadmissible under this section. width=32
c.width=32Evidence of previous width=12sexualwidth=12 conduct with persons other than the defendant which is offered by any lay or expert witness shall not be considered relevant unless it is material to proving the source of semen, pregnancy or disease. 
width=32d.width=32Evidence of the victims previous width=12sexualwidth=12 conduct with the defendant shall be considered relevant if it is probative of whether a reasonable person, knowing what the defendant knew at the time of the alleged offense, would have believed that the alleged victim freely and affirmatively permitted the width=12sexualwidth=12 behavior complained of. 
width=32e.width=32Evidence of the manner in which the victim was dressed at the time an offense was committed shall not be admitted unless such evidence is determined by the court to be relevant and admissible in the interest of justice, after an offer of proof by the proponent of such evidence outside the hearing of the jury or at such hearing as the court may require, and a statement by the court of its findings of fact essential to its determination. A statement by the court of its findings shall also be included in the record. 
width=32f.width=32For the purposes of this section, width=12sexualwidth=12 conduct shall mean any conduct or behavior relating to width=12sexualwidth=12 activities of the victim, including but not limited to previous or subsequent experience of width=12sexualwidth=12 penetration or width=12sexualwidth=12 contact, use of contraceptives, width=12sexualwidth=12 activities reflected in gynecological records, living arrangement and life style. width=32amended 1988, c.69; 1994, c.95; 1995, c.237; 2013, c.51, s.17. 
2C:14-8. Juveniles in need of supervision (J.I.N.S.) law not affected Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to limit the jurisdiction of the court under P.L.1973, c. 306 (C. 2A:4-42 et seq.).

 L.1979, c. 178, s. 27A, eff. Sept. 1, 1979. 
Indictable Criminal Penalties [Felony type] [ Superior Court]
Jail potential Fine max Probation
1st degree 10- 20 years $200,000 [presumption of jail]
2nd degree 5-10 years $150,000 [presumption of jail]
3rd degree 3- 5 years $15,000 1 year- 5 year
4th degree 0- 18 months $10,000 1 year- 5 year
There are many other penalties that the court must impose in criminal case. There are dozens of other penalties a court can impose, depending on the type of matter.
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