ARMED WITH A WEAPON

ELEMENT: ARMED WITH A WEAPON
FIRST DEGREE CRIMINAL SEXUAL CONDUCT

First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct includes circumstances under which the accuser is “ armed with a weapon” or where the actor used force or coercion to accomplish sexual penetration.

If the accused is “armed with a weapon” or any article used or fashioned in a manner to lead the accuser to reasonably believe it to be a weapon, the state can charge the accused with First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct – “armed with a weapon”.

BLANK LAW, PC EXAMPLE – ARMED WITH A WEAPON
When talking to the police the accuser admitted that she never actually saw the accused holding the gun. However, the accuser reasonably believed that the defendant was “armed with a weapon” when he forced her to submit to sexual penetration. That is enough to charge the accused with First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct – armed with a weapon.

For a First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct charge, the accused may be considered “armed with a weapon” even though the accuser disarmed the accused prior to the penetration.