Revoked Consent and Other Changes
The North Carolina General Assembly unanimously voted to approve changes to North Carolina sexual assault rules, along with some other updates. The North Carolina Governor signed the bill, making it law. The new laws apply to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2019.
Consent can be Revoked
The most discussed change applies to the criminal statute definition of consent. In North Carolina, sexual assaults are typically charged for certain conduct done “against the will of the other person” or a person who is incapacitated. The new language of North Carolina Criminal Law statutes makes it clear that “against the will of the other person” means either (1) without consent or (2) “after consent is revoked by the other person.” Before the definition was revised, case law made it difficult to prosecute cases where consent was revoked during sex. Many called this confusion a loophole in the law. This change to the statute clarifies that revocation of consent can and will be charged as sexual assault. North Carolina was one of the only, if not the only, state that seemingly did not allow consent to be revoked.
New Criminal Charge for Failure to Report Crimes Against Juveniles
Beginning December 1, 2019, it is a chargeable offense to fail to report sexual assaults against a minor. This new criminal offense applies when an adult 18 years or older knows or should have known that a juvenile is the victim of a violent offense, a sexual offense, or child abuse. The adult in this situation must report the abuse to law enforcement.
Expanded Statute of Limitations
The new law expands the statue of limitations, or the time period in which North Carolina law enforcement must file criminal charges, to 10 years for certain misdemeanors. Most misdemeanors have a statute of limitations of 2 years. This expanded statute of limitations applies to the crimes of:
- sexual battery;
- indecent liberties between children;
- misdemeanor child abuse
- failure to report crimes against juveniles (the new one discussed above); and
- duty to report abuse, neglect, dependency, or death due to maltreatment.
Other Clarifications
The legislature revised the wording of some existing laws so that they now criminalize more behavior than before. The definition of “mentally incapacitated” was changed to A victim who due to any act is rendered substantially incapable of either appraising the nature of his or her conduct or resisting the act of vaginal intercourse or a sexual act. Before the revision, the definition attempted to articulate certain acts that would render someone mentally incapacitated. This new definition has fewer limitations.
Other notable changes apply to criminal offenses of high-risk sex offenders use of social media to contact minors and distribution of food or beverage which that has some foreign substance meant to impair or harm the person consuming it. The latter is often associated with razor blades or marijuana edibles in Halloween candy, but it applies to all situations.
Written by Landon White
