Commonwealth v. McKay

The defendant was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape. He argues that the judge committed reversible error because (1) women were improperly excluded from the jury, (2) evidence that the victim was a virgin was improperly admitted when her reputation for chastity had not been challenged by the defendant, and (3) the judge failed to instruct the jury properly on the possibility that they might return a verdict for the lesser included offence of simple assault.

The incident occurred in Franklin Park in Boston during the early morning hours of a summer night in 1971. The defendant and…