Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Sex Offenses

A class of sexual conduct prohibited by the law.

Since the 1970s this area of the law has undergone significant changes and reforms. Although the commission of sex offenses is not new, public awareness and concern regarding sex offenses have grown, resulting in the implementation of new RULES OF EVIDENCE and procedure, new police methods and techniques, and new approaches to the investigation and prosecution of sex offenses.

Forcible Sex Offenses

Forcible rape and SODOMY are sexual offenses that have been widely recognized since the beginning of American COMMON LAW. Rape was defined as an act of forcible sexual intercourse with a female other than the perpetrator's wife. Modern legislation in the United States has expanded that definition to include the act of forcible sexual...