2009 Minnesota Statutes: 3rd Degree – Described as sexual penetration

3rd Degree – Described as sexual penetration. Third degree criminal sexual conduct charges include charges brought against a person if the victim was relatively young, unable to consent, or unwilling to consent. Unlike 5th, 4th, and 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct charges 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct does involve penetration. Minnesota 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct charges are not as severe as 1st or 2nd degree charges and are described as aggravated contact rather than assault resulting in injuries.


609.344 CRIMINAL SEXUAL CONDUCT IN THE THIRD DEGREE.
Subdivision 1.Crime defined.

A person who engages in sexual penetration with another person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree if any of the following circumstances exists:

(a) the complainant is under 13 years of age and the actor is no more than 36 months older than the complainant. Neither mistake as to the complainant's age nor consent to the act by the complainant shall be a defense;

(b) the complainant is at least 13 but less than 16 years of age and the actor is more than 24 months older than the complainant. In any such case if the actor is no more than 120 months older than the complainant, it shall be an affirmative defense, which must be proved by a preponderance of the evidence, that the actor reasonably believes the complainant to be 16 years of age or older. In all other cases, mistake as to the complainant's age shall not be a defense. If the actor in such a case is no more than 48 months but more than 24 months older than the complainant, the actor may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years. Consent by the complainant is not a defense;

(c) the actor uses force or coercion to accomplish the penetration;

(d) the actor knows or has reason to know that the complainant is mentally impaired, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless;

(e) the complainant is at least 16 but less than 18 years of age and the actor is more than 48 months older than the complainant and in a position of authority over the complainant. Neither mistake as to the complainant's age nor consent to the act by the complainant is a defense;

(f) the actor has a significant relationship to the complainant and the complainant was at least 16 but under 18 years of age at the time of the sexual penetration. Neither mistake as to the complainant's age nor consent to the act by the complainant is a defense;

(g) the actor has a significant relationship to the complainant, the complainant was at least 16 but under 18 years of age at the time of the sexual penetration, and:

(i) the actor or an accomplice used force or coercion to accomplish the penetration;

(ii) the complainant suffered personal injury; or

(iii) the sexual abuse involved multiple acts committed over an extended period of time.

Neither mistake as to the complainant's age nor consent to the act by the complainant is a defense;

(h) the actor is a psychotherapist and the complainant is a patient of the psychotherapist and the sexual penetration occurred:

(i) during the psychotherapy session; or

(ii) outside the psychotherapy session if an ongoing psychotherapist-patient relationship exists.

Consent by the complainant is not a defense;

(i) the actor is a psychotherapist and the complainant is a former patient of the psychotherapist and the former patient is emotionally dependent upon the psychotherapist;

(j) the actor is a psychotherapist and the complainant is a patient or former patient and the sexual penetration occurred by means of therapeutic deception. Consent by the complainant is not a defense;

(k) the actor accomplishes the sexual penetration by means of deception or false representation that the penetration is for a bona fide medical purpose. Consent by the complainant is not a defense;

(1) the actor is or purports to be a member of the clergy, the complainant is not married to the actor, and:

(i) the sexual penetration occurred during the course of a meeting in which the complainant sought or received religious or spiritual advice, aid, or comfort from the actor in private; or

(ii) the sexual penetration occurred during a period of time in which the complainant was meeting on an ongoing basis with the actor to seek or receive religious or spiritual advice, aid, or comfort in private. Consent by the complainant is not a defense;

(m) the actor is an employee, independent contractor, or volunteer of a state, county, city, or privately operated adult or juvenile correctional system, including, but not limited to, jails, prisons, detention centers, or work release facilities, and the complainant is a resident of a facility or under supervision of the correctional system. Consent by the complainant is not a defense;

(n) the actor provides or is an agent of an entity that provides special transportation service, the complainant used the special transportation service, and the sexual penetration occurred during or immediately before or after the actor transported the complainant. Consent by the complainant is not a defense; or

(o) the actor performs massage or other bodywork for hire, the complainant was a user of one of those services, and nonconsensual sexual penetration occurred during or immediately before or after the actor performed or was hired to perform one of those services for the complainant.
Subd. 2.Penalty.

Except as otherwise provided in section 609.3455, a person convicted under subdivision 1 may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 15 years or to a payment of a fine of not more than $30,000, or both. A person convicted under this section is also subject to conditional release under section 609.3455.
Subd. 3.Stay.

Except when imprisonment is required under section 609.3455; or Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 609.109, if a person is convicted under subdivision 1, clause (f), the court may stay imposition or execution of the sentence if it finds that:

(a) a stay is in the best interest of the complainant or the family unit; and

(b) a professional assessment indicates that the offender has been accepted by and can respond to a treatment program.

If the court stays imposition or execution of sentence, it shall include the following as conditions of probation:

(1) incarceration in a local jail or workhouse;

(2) a requirement that the offender complete a treatment program; and

(3) a requirement that the offender have no unsupervised contact with the complainant until the offender has successfully completed the treatment program unless approved by the treatment program and the supervising correctional agent.

History:

1975 c 374 s 5; 1979 c 258 s 13; 1983 c 204 s 3; 1984 c 588 s 7; 1984 c 628 art 3 s 11; 1985 c 24 s 7; 1985 c 286 s 17; 1985 c 297 s 6; 1986 c 351 s 8; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 80; 1987 c 94 s 1; 1989 c 290 art 4 s 14; 1992 c 571 art 1 s 16,17; 1993 c 326 art 4 s 20; 1994 c 636 art 2 s 35; 1998 c 367 art 3 s 9; art 6 s 15; 2000 c 437 s 12; 2001 c 210 s 22; 2002 c 381 s 3; 2005 c 136 art 2 s 16,17; 2007 c 13 art 3 s 37; 2007 c 54 art 2 s 4