Can you be charged with 2nd degree rape,and second degree sexual offense at the same time
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Can you be charged with 2nd degree rape,and second degree sexual offense at the same time
Charged with rape and and 2nd degree
sexual offense on the same person.
Asked on October 18, 2016 under Criminal Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Yes. You can be charged not just with the highest "level" offense, but also with lesser included offences--basically lesser versions of the same thing. In this case, you can only be convicted of one, but not the other. You've probably seen this in police/court TV shows, like "Law and Order": someone might be charged with murder 1, murder 2, and manslaughter, which are three different "severities" of murder (different levels of punishment) with slightly different criteria, and the jury decides which was committed.
Or you can be charged with separate crimes which have different elements but are based on the same facts and be convicted of both/all. For example, in my state, "assault" includes using a weapon to put someone in fear of an imminent or immediate attack, while "terroristic threat" includes using word and gestures to threaten a person. You can be charged with both and convicted of both.
So there is no rule saying you can only get one charge for one act.
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