Larry W. Zukerman, managing partner at Zukerman, Daiker and Lear in Cleveland, authored this guest column in the Cleveland Jewish News explaining Ohio rape and sexual battery law in the context of high-profile allegations against Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Roy Moore, Al Franken, and others.
Zukerman explains that in Ohio, rape is any form of unwanted sexual conduct obtained without consent, through inability to consent, or through force, threat, or coercion. The issue of consent — or the inability to give it — lies at the heart of the offense. Examples include rendering someone intoxicated to impair their judgment, or engaging in sexual conduct with children under 13 or persons with disabilities.
Sexual battery, by contrast, criminalizes the exploitation of custodial relationships or positions of authority — teachers, coaches, and administrators who engage in sexual conduct with students commit sexual battery regardless of purported consent.
Zukerman concludes by affirming both the seriousness of the allegations and the bedrock legal principle that “every individual accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty in court by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, whether that person is a famous actor or a homeless vagrant.”
Read the full article here: https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/opinion/guest_columns/rape-sex-abuse-allegations-in-media-what-does-it-mean/article_675cb296-cf9e-11e7-b221-93c600d47996.html
