Rebecca Nelson v. James Duvall

¶1 In 2006, the Washington State Legislature created the Sexual Assault Protection Order Act (SAPOA), chapter 7.90 RCW, with the intent of creating a civil remedy allowing victims of sexual assault to obtain a protection order against future interactions with their assailants. In order to obtain a sexual assault protection order, the petitioner must allege, and the court must find, that the sexual conduct or penetration was “noncon-sensual”—in other words, that the petitioner did not give consent. “Nonconsensual” is defined by SAPOA to mean “a lack of freely given agreement.” RCW 7.90.010(1).

¶…