A California bill that requires a prison sentence for anyone convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious person is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) desk, after the California Assembly approved it on Monday by a vote of 66-0.
Under the state's current law, a prison sentence is imposed when physical force is used during the rape, which is often not the case when a victim is intoxicated or unconscious. "Sexually assaulting an unconscious person or intoxicated victim is a terrible crime and our laws need to reflect that," said Assemblyman Bill Dodd (D), an author of the bill. "Letting felons convicted of such crimes get off with probation discourages other survivors from coming forward and sends the message that raping incapacitated victims is no big deal."
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