T.P.I. -- CRIM. 10.12

RAPE OF A CHILD

            Any person who commits the offense of rape of a child is guilty of a crime.

            For you to find the defendant guilty of this offense, the state must have proven beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the following essential elements:¹

            (1)  that the defendant had unlawful sexual penetration of the alleged

                   victim or the alleged victim had unlawful sexual penetration of the

                   defendant;

 and

                 (2)  that the alleged victim was less than thirteen (13) years of age;

and

            (3)  that the defendant acted either intentionally, knowingly or recklessly.²

            "Sexual penetration" means sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anal intercourse, or any other intrusion, however slight, of any part of a person's body or of any object into the genital or anal openings of the alleged victim's, the defendant's, or any other person's body, but emission of semen is not required.³

            ["Cunnilingus" means a sex act accomplished by placing the mouth or tongue on or in the vagina of another.]⁴

            ["Fellatio" means a sex act accomplished with the male sex organ and the mouth of another.]⁵

            "Victim" means the person alleged to have been subjected to criminal sexual conduct.⁶

            "Intentionally" means that a person acts intentionally with respect to the nature of the conduct or to a result of the conduct when it is the person's conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result.⁷

            "Knowingly" means that a person acts knowingly with respect to the conduct or to circumstances surrounding the conduct when the person is aware of the nature of the conduct or that the circumstances exist.  A person acts knowingly with respect to a result of the person's conduct when the person is aware that the conduct is reasonably certain to cause the result.⁸

            "Recklessly" means that a person acts recklessly with respect to circumstances surrounding the conduct or the result of the conduct when the person is aware of, but consciously disregards, a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur.  The risk must be of such a nature and degree that its disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the accused person's standpoint.⁹

FOOTNOTES

  1.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-522(a).

  2.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-301(b) and (c) and accompanying Sentencing

              Commission Comment.

  3.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-501(7).

  4.  This definition is derived from former T.P.I. CRIM -- 9.04, Crimes Against

       Nature.

  5.  Id.

  6.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-501(8).

  7.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(18).

  8.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(20).

  9.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(31).

COMMENTS

            1.  Rape of a child is a Class A felony.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-522(b).

                 2. If the definition of an offense within Title 39 does not plainly dispense with a mental element, intent, knowledge or recklessness suffices to establish the culpable mental state.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-301(c).  The Committee is of the opinion that the definitions of "intentionally", "knowingly", and "recklessly" should all be charged for this offense. 

            3.  A violation of Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-15-401, child abuse and neglect, may be a lesser included offense of rape of a child.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-15-401(d).