Weishaupt v. Commonwealth

315 S.E.2d 847, 227 Va. 389, 1984 Va. LEXIS 258
CourtSupreme Court of Virginia
DecidedApril 27, 1984
DocketRecord 830616
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 315 S.E.2d 847 (Weishaupt v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Weishaupt v. Commonwealth, 315 S.E.2d 847, 227 Va. 389, 1984 Va. LEXIS 258 (Va. 1984).

Opinions

THOMAS, J.,

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This appeal raises an issue of first impression in the Commonwealth: whether a husband can be guilty of raping his wife, in violation of Code § 18.2-61, where, at the time of the alleged offense, the parties were living separate and apart.

Weishaupt was indicted for rape. He moved to dismiss the indictment on the ground that pursuant to common law principles, a husband cannot be convicted of raping his wife. The trial court rejected Weishaupt’s argument and denied the motion. The case was tried to a jury which found Weishaupt guilty of attempted rape. Judgment was entered on the verdict and Weishaupt was sentenced to two years in prison. Execution of that sentence was suspended, pending the outcome of this appeal.

On appeal, Weishaupt contends that the trial court erred in failing to dismiss the indictment. We believe the trial court was correct in its ruling. Therefore, we will affirm the conviction.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, we find the facts to be as follows: Janet and Ronald Weishaupt were married on July 19, 1980. One child was born of their marriage. On November 9, 1981, Janet moved out of the marital abode, taking with her the couple’s infant child. From the time Janet moved out in November 1981, through the date of the attack in October 1982, the parties lived separate and apart and did not engage in any sexual relations. Their contacts were limited to telephone conversations about their child and chance meetings in public where they exchanged perfunctory greetings. During the eleven months prior to the attack, Janet consulted a lawyer regarding a divorce and was advised to wait until she had been separated for one year, before filing any divorce papers.

On the night of October 16, 1982, Weishaupt saw his estranged wife at a bowling alley. She was part of a group consisting of [393]*393three males and three females. Janet said a “simple hello” to Weishaupt, “just to be friendly.” Janet’s group bowled until approximately 12:30 a.m. on October 17, 1982. Her group then made plans to leave the bowling alley and meet at the apartment of one of the other women. However, two of the couples wanted to go “four-wheel-driving” before continuing their evening. Janet and one of the men chose not to go driving. They decided to wait in the apartment until the others arrived.

Weishaupt, who left the bowling alley shortly after his estranged wife’s group, was driving around when he encountered a vehicle containing the two couples whom he had seen bowling with Janet and her companion. Weishaupt flagged the car down, observed that Janet and one of the three men were no longer in the group, and demanded to know where she was. When no one responded, Weishaupt drove off in search of his wife. He went to the highrise apartment building where Janet and her escort were waiting for the others. He proceeded to the sixth floor of the building and beat on the door to the apartment where he suspected Janet was located. Janet looked through the peephole and recognized Weishaupt but neither opened the door nor acknowledged that she was inside. For a while, Weishaupt continued to beat on the door and try the doorknob, but eventually he stopped. Janet peeped through a window and saw him getting into his car. She thought he had left.

A short time later, however, Weishaupt returned to the apartment building. This time, instead of going inside he climbed up the outside of the building, working his way vertically from balcony to balcony until he reached the balcony to the apartment where Janet was located. He pounded on the sliding glass door. Janet came to investigate the noise, recognized Weishaupt, and told her companion that Weishaupt was on the balcony. At the suggestion of her companion, Janet opened the balcony door.

As soon as the door was opened, Weishaupt charged into the apartment, ran into the bedroom and leaped on top of Janet’s companion, punching him and yelling that he had “caught” them. Weishaupt demanded that the other man “step outside.” Janet ran to the kitchen to call the police but Weishaupt pursued her, ripped the phone from her hand, tore the cord from the phone, and shoved her away. He then continued his altercation with the other man. Janet tried to break up the fight by stepping between the men. This time, Weishaupt knocked her down.

[394]*394Weishaupt continued to demand that the other man step outside. The other man finally agreed, but said he would step outside only to talk, not to fight. Weishaupt held the door open, the other man walked out first, whereupon Weishaupt slammed the door, leaving him in the apartment alone with Janet.

Standing on the other side of the door, Janet’s companion could hear her inside screaming and telling Weishaupt to leave her alone. He tried to gain entry by knocking on the door and asking Weishaupt to let him in. He got no response. While he was standing outside the door a security guard walked up to investigate the ruckus.

In the apartment, Weishaupt turned his attention to Janet. He pushed, shoved, and dragged her into the bedroom. Though she resisted, he succeeded in forcing her into the room, then threw her on the bed. All the while she was screaming, “no, don’t. I don’t want to.” She fought with him on the bed and they fell to the floor. Weishaupt landed on top. He pinned Janet’s arms down with his knees then used his hands to choke her as he demanded to know whether she had been to bed with anyone. She said no. She pleaded with him to let her get a drink of water. Weishaupt released her momentarily. When she finished getting the water, he put her back on the bed and started to kiss her and undo her blouse. She fought with him again and again they fell to the floor. This time he got her pants down and in Janet’s words, “proceeded to have intercourse.” With Janet on the floor beneath him, Weishaupt stated, “I have to do this to find out if you’ve been to bed with anyone else.”

Throughout his ordeal, Janet continued to scream and resist. When the apartment owner arrived to open the door for the security guard, she and others in the hallway could hear Janet’s screams. The security guard heard Janet say “leave [me] alone, you’re hurting me, get off of me.” When the door was opened, Janet was found lying on the floor, at the foot of the bed, curled up in the fetal position with her pants and underpants down to her ankles. She had red marks on her back and was sobbing hysterically.

Weishaupt was standing nearby covered with perspiration. He was observed buckling up his pants. One of the women who came to Janet’s assistance asked Weishaupt whether he had raped Janet. He replied, “yes, I tried.”

[395]*395Weishaupt admits that he and Janet were living separate and apart at the time of the attack. Nevertheless, he contends that he had an absolute right to do what he did. In making this argument he relies on the so-called “marital exemption” which he says developed in English common law and applies in Virginia because of Code § 1-10.1 The source of the marital exemption is said to be a statement made by the 17th century English jurist Sir Matthew Hale.2 He wrote as follows:

[T]he husband cannot be guilty of a rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife, for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband, which she cannot retract.

1 M. Hale,

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Bluebook (online)
315 S.E.2d 847, 227 Va. 389, 1984 Va. LEXIS 258, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weishaupt-v-commonwealth-va-1984.