Evolution of Sexual Assault Laws in North Dakota
1862
- First sexual assault statute was passed by the Dakota Territory Legislature.
- General Laws defined rape as "the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will".
- Proof of emission was not necessary for conviction of rape.
- Rapists were to be "deemed infamous" and deprived of their right to vote, serve as a juror, or hold any office of honor or trust
1877
- Revised Codes redefined rape and established degrees of rape.
- Rape was "An act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a female not the wife of the perpetrator".
- Rape could be charged when the female was under age 10, where she was incapable of giving consent, where her resistance was overcome by force, where she was drugged or unconscious, or where she believed the person committing the act was her husband.
- A male under 14 was incapable of committing rape unless proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
- First degree rape was rape of a female under the age of 10, rape of an incompetent, or rape accomplished by force overcoming the victim’s resistance.
- Second degree rape encompassed rape under all other circumstances
1887
