State v. Goodwin

The defendant, Douglas Goodwin, was convicted in the Superior Court (Perkins, J.) of five counts of felonious sexual assault against a fifteen-year-old girl, see RSA 632-A:3, II (1986). He argues that the trial court erred in holding that the mens rea for the offense charged was “knowingly,” rather than “purposely.” We affirm.

RSA 632-A:3, II provides that “[a] person is guilty of a class B felony if he . . . [e]ngages in sexual penetration with a person other than his legal spouse who is 13 years of age or older and under 16 years of age . . . .” In spite of the fact that there is no mens rea…