State v. Berry

Defendant was charged with one count of second-degree rape, ORS 163.365, and five counts of first-degree sexual abuse, ORS 163.427, after engaging in sexual acts with someone he met online. The charges were based on the age of the victim; the state alleged that she was 13 at the time of the acts, and it offered the victim’s birth certificate and testimony of her mother to prove that allegation. Defendant, meanwhile, contended that she was older — either 15, as she posted on her MySpace page, or 17, as she represented to defendant in an e-mail.

The charged offenses, second-degree rape and…