566.020. Mistake as to incapacity or age--consent not a defense, when. - Missouri Statutes

Mistake as to incapacity or age--consent not a defense, when.

566.020. 1. Whenever in this chapter the criminality of conductdepends upon a victim's being incapacitated, no crime is committed if theactor reasonably believed that the victim was not incapacitated andreasonably believed that the victim consented to the act. The defendantshall have the burden of injecting the issue of belief as to capacity andconsent.

2. Whenever in this chapter the criminality of conduct depends upon achild being thirteen years of age or younger, it is no defense that thedefendant believed the child to be older.

3. Whenever in this chapter the criminality of conduct depends upon achild being under seventeen years of age, it is an affirmative defense thatthe defendant reasonably believed that the child was seventeen years of ageor older.

4. Consent is not an affirmative defense to any offense under chapter566 if the alleged victim is less than twelve years of age.

(L. 1977 S.B. 60, A.L. 1994 S.B. 693, A.L. 2006 H.B. 1698, et al.)

Effective 6-05-06