State v. Huntsman

204 P.2d 448, 115 Utah 283, 1949 Utah LEXIS 131
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 28, 1949
DocketNo. 7192.
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 204 P.2d 448 (State v. Huntsman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Huntsman, 204 P.2d 448, 115 Utah 283, 1949 Utah LEXIS 131 (Utah 1949).

Opinions

WADE, Justice.

Defendant appeals from a conviction of carnal knowledge. The act shown to have been accomplished with a married female just a few days under 18 years of age. He contends that such act does not constitute the crime of carnal knowledge under our statute, Section 103-51-19, U. C. A. 1943, which provides:

“Any person who carnally and unlawfully knows any female over the age of thirteen years and under the age of eighteen years is guilty of a felony.”

*285 Section 14-1-1, U. C. A. 1948, provides:

“The period of minority extends in males to the age of twenty-one years and in females to that of eighteen years; but all minors obtain their majority by marriage.”

Counsel argues that since carnal knowledge requires intercourse with a female under 18 years of age, the age that she reaches her majority, that carnal knowledge must he consummated with a minor and that this girl was not a minor because she obtained her majority on marriage. The statute does not require intercourse with a minor female, it requires that the female be over 13 and under 18 years of age. There is no mention of minority or majority, in fact, intercourse with a minor female under 13 is rape. See Section 103-51-15, U. C. A. 1943. In Stoker v. Gowans, 45 Utah 556, 147 P. 911, Ann. Cas. 1916E, 1025, under a statute giving the juvenile court jurisdiction of delinquent children under 18 years of age, we held that the marriage of a girl under that age did not divest that court of jurisdiction over her. So here the fact that she had attained her majority is not a defense to this charge.

Defendant further contends that since a female of tender years is incapable of giving her consent to the act of sexual intercourse she is not guilty of a crime by voluntarily indulging in such act. That in such act only the male participant is guilty of a crime and in order for him to commit the offense of carnal knowledge the female must be incapable of giving her consent. He further contends that in enacting this statute the legislature, in view of the foregoing facts, fixed the age of consent by a female to an illicit act of sexual intercourse at 18 years and therefore a female does not commit a sexual offense by engaging in that act before she reaches that age. As an added argument that a female does not reach the age of consent under the age of 18 years, he points out that she attains her majority at that age, and that she cannot obtain a *286 marriage license under Section 40-1-9, U. C. A. 1943, without the consent of her parents or guardian if she is under that age. He, however, contends that by marriage she attains her majority and may obtain a license to marry a second time even without the consent of her parent or guardian, though she has not attained that age, and since marriage contemplates sexual intercourse, she thereby becomes capable of consenting to such act and that when with her consent she consummates that act with a person other than her husband she is guilty of a crime, the same as the male participant, and therefore he does not commit the crime of carnal knowledge by such act. To this effect he cites State v. Evans, 27 Utah 12, 73 P. 1047, and State v. Wade, 66 Utah 267, 241 P. 838.

None of the above cases hold that the male does not commit carnal knowledge by illicit intercourse with a female capable of consenting to that act nor does the statute expressly so provide. The Evans case, supra, merely quotes without comment thereon the allegations of an information which charges carnal knowledge of a female over 13 and under 18 years of age and adds, “she being an unmarried female”. The court did not hold or even intimate that such allegation was necessary nor make any comment which tends to support defendant’s position.

In the Wade case, supra, the defendant, a married man, was convicted of adultery with a 14 year old girl who resisted his advances and did not consent to the act. He contended that there was no corroboration of her testimony; that she was an accomplice and therefore his conviction was contrary to Sec. 8992, C. L. U. 1917, now Sec. 105-32-18, U. C. A. 1943. We held through Mr. Justice Cherry that she was not an accomplice because the intercourse was accomplished by overcoming her resistance. We further stated that she was not an accomplice because the penal code implies that a female under the age of 18 years (commonly called the age of consent) is incapable of consenting to illicit sexual intercourse because of her immature age. *287 We cited as sustaining this position Sec. 8109, C. L. U. 1917, now Sec. 103-51-19, U. C. A. 1943, on carnal knowledge, quoted above, and cases under that section holding that the female participant in the illicit intercourse is not an accomplice under the act. We posed the question of whether a married woman between the ages of 13 and 18 years is capable of consenting to illicit intercourse but since that question was not before us, we expressed no opinion thereon.

In State v. Warner, 79 Utah 500, 291 P. 307, defendant was convicted of incest on the uncorroborated testimony of his 13 year old daughter with whom he had sexual intercourse. Through Mr. Justice Straup, we held that the daughter was not an accomplice, pointing out that under Sec. 8105, C. L. U. 1917, now Sec. 103-51-15, by illicit intercourse with a female under 13 years of age the male commits rape, and by such intercourse with a female over 13 and under 18 the male is guilty of carnal knowledge under the above quoted statute, and this is true in both cases with or without her consent and that neither statute makes such intercourse an offense on the part of the female. After citing cases under those statutes to that effect we cited State v. Wade, supra, and State v. Winslow, 30 Utah 403, 85 P. 433, 8 Ann. Cas. 908, commenting that:

“These cases proceed on the theory that the female because of her age was in law incapable of yielding consent and thus was not an accomplice.” [79 Utah 500, 291 P. 309]

In the Winslow case the defendant was convicted of an attempt to commit incest upon his 11 year old daughter. Again speaking through Mr. Justice Straup, we said that

“the prosecutrix had not consented as a matter of fact; and, because of her age, under the statute, she was legally incapable of yielding consent.” [30 Utah 403, 85 P. 434.]

The incest statute makes no express distinction between the male and female and there is no age limit therein, since the female in that case was under 13 years of age, *288 only the rape statute supra, could render her incapable of yielding consent because of her age.

Except in the Warner case supra, all of the foregoing cases which discuss the age of consent expressly hold that the female in fact did not consent to the illicit act and therefore it was not necessary to pass on the age of consent.

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Bluebook (online)
204 P.2d 448, 115 Utah 283, 1949 Utah LEXIS 131, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-huntsman-utah-1949.