Sexual Battery

• Florida Statute 794.011(1)(h) defines sexual battery as anal, vaginal or oral penetration with a sexual organ without the consent of the victim. Consent must be voluntary, and a lack of resistance from the victim during an attack is not consent. Sexual battery is a capital felony in Florida under 794.011(2)(a) when the victim is less than 12 years old and the accused is at least 18 years old. When the victim is under 12, but the accused is under 18, 794.011(2)(b) classifies sexual battery as a life felony. 794.011(3) defines sexual battery as a life felony when the victim over 12 was threatened with the use of force or a deadly weapon or the accused actually used forced that caused a serious physical injury. Sexual battery is a first degree felony under 794.011(4) if the victim is physically incapacitated, if the accused gave the victim a drug or anesthetic, if the victim is mentally disabled, if the victim is a law enforcement or corrections officer or if the accused threatened violence to coerce the victim not to resist. All other instances of sexual battery are charged as sexual battery as a second-degree felony, as set forth 794.011(5).
  
  

Evidence

• Florida law dictates what evidence is permitted and disallowed during a criminal trial for sexual battery. Under 794.022(1), if the victim testifies, her testimony is admissible even absent any other corroborating evidence. This means that an accused can be convicted solely on the victim's statements, if the jury believes her, without any other physical evidence or DNA. The law further protects a victim by making all evidence of her sexual history with anyone other than the accused inadmissible, as set forth in 794.022(2).
  
  

Prison Sentences

• The sentencing guidelines for crimes committed in Florida are set forth in 775.082 of the state statutes. Under subsection (1), a person convicted of a capital sexual battery offense can be given the death penalty or life in prison without parole. The sentence for sexual battery as a life felony committed after September 1, 2005 is 25 years to life, according to 775.082(3)(a)(4a). If the defendant has any prior convictions, as of July 1, 2008, the sentence is automatically life in prison. 775.082(3)(b) sets the penalty for sexual battery as a first-degree felony at up to 30 years in prison. A second-degree felony carries a sentence of up to 15 years as set forth in 775.082(3)(c).
  
  

Fines

• A defendant may also be ordered to pay a fine in addition to any time in prison to which he is sentenced. The maximum fine for a capital or life felony is set at $15,000 in 775.083(1)(a). For a sexual battery as a first or second-degree felony, 775.083(1)(b) permits a maximum fine of $10,000.