Oklahoma: In a shocking verdict, an Oklahoma court sparked outrage by ruling that engaging in 'oral sex' without the knowledge of victim will not be considered as 'rape', according to a report in The Irish Times.
The verdict is ruled by the state's criminal appeals court and has stunned the prosecutors as well as critics.
The case
The court's ruling comes in a case where a 17-year-old boy sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl after offering her a ride home. Before offering lift to the victim, both of them had been drinking in Tulsa park with a group of friends.
Witnesses in the case said that the victim was highly intoxicated and had to be carried to the accused's car. He dropped off the girl at her grandmother's place. With her condition getting worse and being heavily drunk, she had to be taken to a hospital.
Sexual assault examination
Waking up to a team of medics performing sexual assault examination was quite disturbing for the victim as she did not have any memories of the previous evening when she was drinking with friends.
The medical tests conducted on her stated that she had been a victim of sexual assault as a young man's (accused in the case) DNA was found on the back of her leg as well as around her mouth.
Upon being questioned, the boy said that the victim had consented to engaging in oral sex with him. On the other hand, the girl refuted his claims saying that she did not remember anything from the previous day. A case was then registered against the boy, accusing him of orally sodomising the victim without her knowledge.
The verdict
However, the court dismissed the case stating that forcing a person into sex is not possible when he or she is completely intoxicated. “Forcible sodomy cannot occur where a victim is so intoxicated as to be completely unconscious at the time of the sexual act of oral copulation,” said the court.
Expressing their disagreement, prosecutors said that this case should be a wake up call for legislators to make changes in Oklahoma laws.
