Rape and Statutory Rape
Rape and statutory rape are some of the major forms of violence against women and minors. The two crimes involve illegal sexual contact. California and New York refer to rape as illegal sexual intercourse that involves force or coercion (Travis, 2003). Rape involves adults.
On the other hand, the states refer to statutory rape that refers to the illegal sexual contact between an adult and a minor. An adult refers to a person who has attained the age of consent, whereas; a minor refers to an individual who is under that age (Gardner & Anderson, 2008). In the U.S., the age of consent is 18 years.
In California, statutory rape is punishable by imprisonment of a maximum of 8 years and, what goes for rape, this crime is punishable by a maximum of 16 years. In New York, on the other hand, imprisonment for rape or statutory rape may reach the maximum sentence of 25 years.
Assault, Battery, and Mayhem
Battery refers to “actual physical contact that is offensive in some way” (Briggs, 2011, p. 63). On the other hand, assault refers to “the intentional attempt or threat to physically injure another” (Boyes-Watson, 2013, p. 115). Aggravated assault refers to the threat to inflict grave personal harms on an individual.
These personal harms may include murder, rape, or robbery. However, mere assault is the threat to commit fewer grave harms. The perpetrator must act in a manner that makes the victim believe that the individual would commit the battery.
On the other hand, mayhem refers to an aggravated form of battery (Boyes-Watson, 2013). These forms of the aggravated battery may include burning the individual’s face with acid or severing a certain body part. Therefore, battery and assault may be components of mayhem. However, the reverse may not be true.
It is common for people to use the terms “assault” and “battery” interchangeably while referring to different situations. Therefore, people who are victims of the battery may claim that they are victims of assault. California’s legislation does not contain the word ‘battery.’
Therefore, in the state, assault may refer to the battery. On the other hand, New York defines battery as physical contact with the intention of causing harm to another individual. New York legislation terms assault as the threat to harm an individual (Boyes-Watson, 2013).
The maximum sentence for assault in New York and California is the imprisonment for 25 years, and the same goes for battery in the two states. On the other hand, the sentence for mayhem in both states is life imprisonment.
Kidnapping and False Imprisonment
New York and California define kidnapping as the non-consensual transportation for a person for a significant distance or forcible holding of an individual in an isolated location. On the other hand, false imprisonment refers to the illegal or non-consensual arrest of an individual.
Both kidnapping and false imprisonment involve confinement of an individual. However, the location for keeping the individual incarcerated may be different for both crimes. Kidnapping mainly involves confinement in a distant location (Briggs, 2011).
California defines false imprisonment as a violation of the liberties of an individual. On the other hand, New York defines it as the forcible capture of an individual. According to California’s Penal Code 207, 208, and 209, the maximum duration of imprisonment for kidnapping is 25 years.
On the other hand, according to New York Penal code 135, the sentence for this crime is imprisonment for 5 to 25 years. In California, when accused of false imprisonment, an individual is incarcerated for a maximum of 5 years. The maximum sentence for false imprisonment in New York is also five years.
References
Boyes-Watson, C. (2013). Crime and justice: Learning through cases. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Briggs, S. (2011). Criminology for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Gardner, T.J. & Anderson, T.M. (2008). Criminal law. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Travis, C.B. (2003). Evolution, gender, and rape. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Appendix
Figure 1. Comparative matrix