Hatch v. United States

GLICKMAN, Associate Judge:

Under the Anti-Sexual Abuse Act of 1994, the offense of first-degree sexual abuse is defined as the use of force to cause another person to engage in or submit to a sexual act.1 Until recently, another provision of the same Act made consent by the victim an affirmative defense, “which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the evidence.”2 This did not mean the defendant was required to carry the burden of proving that he did not use force. As we explained in Russell v. United States, requiring the defendant to prove consent as a defense to a prosecution…