State v. Gomez

The issue presented in this case is whether Adrian Gomez (“Defendant”) 1 can be convicted of forcible rape of a person who has been declared mentally incapacitated when the trial court found there was no substantial evidence of any threats, express or implied, or testimony about physical force. In the court-tried case, the trial court found that physical force must be inferred from the victim’s mental capacity and, thus, Defendant was convicted of forcible rape and sentenced to seven years imprisonment. 2 We must reverse.

The victim, a nineteen-year-old female, with a mental capacity between…