Florida Date Rape Law

According to national surveys, as many as 15 percent of female students on college campuses have been the victims of rape. A further 57 percent of those reported rapes occurred while the offender and the victim were on a date. In many of the cases, date rape drugs, which are primarily made up of chemical compounds that heighten the effect of other intoxicants, were used to incapacitate the victim. Because these drugs are colorless and odorless, they are difficult to detect prior to ingestion and leave victims unable to consent to sexual relations, especially if they are rendered unconscious. Although date rape is not specifically defined in Florida, it does fall under the category of sexual battery.

What is Date Rape?

Date rape is a term used to describe forcible sexual conduct between parties who already know each other. While most people associate date rape with first dates between strangers, date rape can actually occur between friends, co-workers, or those in a long-term relationship. Date rape is also associated with the use of date rape drugs, which can incapacitate victims, making them unable to consent to sexual relations.

Defining Consent

In Florida, engaging in non-consensual sexual relations is a crime, regardless of the identities of the parties. Rather than focusing on whether the parties knew each other, courts look for proof of a victim’s lack of consent. In order to meet the legal standard of consent, a person’s consent must be intelligent, knowing, and voluntary.

Incapacitation

Florida Statute 794.011 states that anyone who uses narcotics, anesthetics, or another intoxicating substance without someone’s knowledge in order to incapacitate them and then engages in sexual relations with that person has committed sexual battery. This is because ingesting date rape drugs incapacitates victims to such a degree that they cannot knowingly consent to sexual relations with another person. Even offenders who did not drug the victim him or herself, but knew that someone else had can be convicted of date rape. Florida law also generally prohibits sexual contact with anyone who is physically helpless, which could mean that the person was:

Unconscious;
Asleep; or
Physically unable to communicate an unwillingness to consent to a sexual act.

Defendants who are found to have drugged or otherwise incapacitated their victim may face longer prison sentences and higher fines.

Date Rape Drugs

Although there are a wide variety of date rape drugs, the three most common are known as:

Rohypnol;
GHB; and
Ketamine.

Rohypnol, which is more commonly referred to as a roofie is a drug similar to Valium or Xanax, but is not approved for medical use in the U.S. Like other date rape drugs, Rohypnol has no taste or smell and is often colorless when dissolved in liquid. Victims who have had this drug slipped into their drink often feel fatigued and confused and suffer from weakness and memory problems. Some are unable to move and have trouble breathing. GHB has similar effects and is prescribed for sleep disorders. When used as a date rape drug GHB can cause unconsciousness within 15 to 30 minutes of ingestion. The effects of GHB can last for up to six hours and as a tasteless, odorless, and colorless substance is nearly impossible to identify. The third drug, referred to as Ketamine, is an anesthetic that causes feelings of detachment and distorts the user’s perceptions. Although the effects of ingesting Ketamine only last for around an hour, it can cause strong hallucinations and severe confusion.

All of these drugs heighten the effect of other intoxicants, such as alcohol. As a result, victims who have been “roofied” often experience especially severe symptoms, including memory loss and paralysis. By slipping these types of drugs into a victim’s drink without his or her knowledge, a person has essentially removed that individual’s ability to consent to sexual relations and any sexual contact after that point will be considered sexual battery.

Penalties

The penalties faced by defendants who are convicted of date rape are just as severe, if not more so, than the sentences handed down to offenders who did not know their victim prior to the rape. This means that those who are accused of date rape can be charged with a first-degree felony, which is punishable by 30 years in prison. Defendants over the age of 18 years old who are convicted of date raping an underage victim may spend the rest of their lives in prison, while those who cause an injury to an underage victim during the course of a sexual assault can be charged with a life felony, which is also punishable by a 30 year prison sentence.