Oklahoma criminal prosecutors are angry over a recent ruling by the state’s highest criminal court, reports KGOU. The decision states that Oklahoma’s forcible sodomy law doesn’t apply when the victim is intoxicated or unconscious. The ruling goes against a nationwide trend toward stricter enforcement of sexual assault laws.
In March, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals considered a case concerning two high school students. A girl, 16, had been drinking vodka all night and was seen to be incoherent and stumbling. The defendant, 17, claimed the victim engaged in consensual oral sex with him, claiming it was her idea. Prosecutors charged the boy with first-degree rape and forcible oral sodomy, but the charge was dismissed.
The high court decided the original ruling was not in error. State Rep. Scott Biggs says he plans to amend a legislative bill to include unconscious victims in the forcible sodomy law.
