State v. Stiffler

McDEVITT, Justice,

specially concurring:

I am writing to concur in the majority view that there is no mistake of fact defense to the crime of statutory rape relating to the age of the complainant. There is, however, another predicate upon which to arrive at this result which should be aired.

There is a principle fundamental to our system of criminal law that the intent to commit a crime is a prerequisite to a finding of guilt and imposition of punishment. This principle “is as universal and persistent in mature systems of law as belief in freedom of the human will and a consequent ability and…