State v. Collins

Fletcher, Presiding Justice.

A jury convicted William Perry Collins of rape, statutory rape, and incest involving a 12-year-old girl. The court of appeals affirmed the convictions of statutory rape and incest, but reversed the rape conviction on the grounds that the state failed to show that the defendant used force. 1 We granted the writ of certiorari to consider whether the element of force may be presumed as a matter of law to obtain a rape conviction when the victim is a minor. Adhering to our decision in Drake v. State,2 we hold that the state must prove the element of force to obtain a…