Abstract
The crime of statutory rape traditionally has been a strict liability offense. In State v. Elton, the Utah Supreme Court refused to break with that tradition in construing Utah's statutory rape law. The Elton court held that a culpable mental state is not an element of the crime of statutory rape, and thus ruled that a defendant charged with statutory rape is not entitled to the defense of a reasonable mistake as to the victim's age. The Elton court refused to reevaluate its prior interpretations of the statutory rape law5 or to question the relationship between the law's application and its alleged purpose of protecting sexually inexperienced and immature children from the advances of the opposite sex. Some jurisdictions have determined either judicially or legislatively that not all children are sexually immature, eviscerating the need for a strict liability statutory rape law. The Elton court, however, did not follow that line of reasoning, nor did it consider the possibility that the statutory rape law does not necessarily achieve its purpose.
Recommended Citation
Vance, Kelly
(1983)
"State v. Elton: The Failure to Recognize a Defense
to Statutory Rape,"
Utah Law Review: Vol. 1983:
No.
2, Article 8.
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol1983/iss2/8