Sexual Assault Criminal Investigation IP5 Name Class Date Professor Criminal Investigation IP5 Sexual Assault Laws Rape is a crime where a victim is forcibly made to engage in sexual intercourse. In the state of Mississippi rape by force is a felony codified under the crime of sexual battery. In the state of Mississippi force is not necessary just the threat or failure to give consent if the victim is mentally disabled. It is also considered sexual battery in the state of Mississippi is an adult over the age of 18 has sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 14. If a person is charged and found guilty of sexual battery they face a prison sentence of up the thirty years while an adult charged with sexual battery on a child will receive up to a twenty year prison. Mississippi has a different statute for statutory rape. Statutory rape is another type of rape where a person over the age of eighteen has sexual intercourse with someone the age of 16 or younger but no younger than the age of 14. In Mississippi the age of consent is sixteen (Mince-Didier, 2008). If anyone over the age of eighteen has sex with someone under the age of consent they will be subject to statutory charges. Even if a eighteen years old is “dating” the minor, the minor cannot give consent to engage in sexual activity with an adult. In the state of Mississippi if an adult is found guilty of statutory rape with a minor between the ages of 14-16 they face up to twenty years in prison. The only differentiation between the sexual battery and statutory rape charges is the age of the victim. When a person in Mississippi is under the age of sixteen they cannot give consent to engage in sexual activity. If an adult has sexual intercourse with someone under the age of fourteen they will face a different charge even if the child gave their consent. Adults engaging in sexual activity with a minor under the age of 14 are charged with sexual battery. Sexual battery between two adults is considered rape and will result in a felony charge and a harsh prison sentence is the criminal defendant is found guilty. If the victim were 14 years old, the suspect were 17 years old, and the sex was consensual it would not be considered statutory rape in the state of Mississippi. In order to be charged with statutory rape, the offender must be at least eighteen years old. A seventeen year old is not considered an adult in Mississippi even if the juvenile is not old enough to consent. In fact if a person is over the age of 21 and engages in sexual activity with a child ages 14-16, they will face a longer prison sentence than someone ages 18-21 (Mince-Didier, 2008). A 17 year old will not be charged with statutory rape if engaging in a consensual relationship with the 14 years old. If the victim were 14, the suspect were 17, and the rape were forced the criminal suspect will be charged with forcible rape as a minor unless the prosecutor request the suspect be cha.

1. Sexual Assault
Criminal Investigation IP5
Name
Class
Date
Professor
Criminal Investigation IP5
Sexual Assault Laws
Rape is a crime where a victim is forcibly made to engage
in sexual intercourse. In the state of Mississippi rape by force is
a felony codified under the crime of sexual battery. In the state
of Mississippi force is not necessary just the threat or failure to
give consent if the victim is mentally disabled. It is also

2. considered sexual battery in the state of Mississippi is an adult
over the age of 18 has sexual intercourse with a child under the
age of 14. If a person is charged and found guilty of sexual
battery they face a prison sentence of up the thirty years while
an adult charged with sexual battery on a child will receive up
to a twenty year prison.
Mississippi has a different statute for statutory rape.
Statutory rape is another type of rape where a person over the
age of eighteen has sexual intercourse with someone the age of
16 or younger but no younger than the age of 14. In Mississippi
the age of consent is sixteen (Mince-Didier, 2008). If anyone
over the age of eighteen has sex with someone under the age of
consent they will be subject to statutory charges. Even if a
eighteen years old is “dating” the minor, the minor cannot give
consent to engage in sexual activity with an adult. In the state
of Mississippi if an adult is found guilty of statutory rape with a
minor between the ages of 14-16 they face up to twenty years in
prison.
The only differentiation between the sexual battery and
statutory rape charges is the age of the victim. When a person in
Mississippi is under the age of sixteen they cannot give consent
to engage in sexual activity. If an adult has sexual intercourse
with someone under the age of fourteen they will face a
different charge even if the child gave their consent. Adults
engaging in sexual activity with a minor under the age of 14 are
charged with sexual battery. Sexual battery between two adults
is considered rape and will result in a felony charge and a harsh
prison sentence is the criminal defendant is found guilty.
If the victim were 14 years old, the suspect were 17 years
old, and the sex was consensual it would not be considered
statutory rape in the state of Mississippi. In order to be charged
with statutory rape, the offender must be at least eighteen years
old. A seventeen year old is not considered an adult in
Mississippi even if the juvenile is not old enough to consent. In
fact if a person is over the age of 21 and engages in sexual
activity with a child ages 14-16, they will face a longer prison

3. sentence than someone ages 18-21 (Mince-Didier, 2008). A 17
year old will not be charged with statutory rape if engaging in a
consensual relationship with the 14 years old.
If the victim were 14, the suspect were 17, and the rape
were forced the criminal suspect will be charged with forcible
rape as a minor unless the prosecutor request the suspect be
charged as an adult. If the 17 year old is charged as an adult
they will be subject to the adult sexual battery charges and if
found guilty can face up to a thirty year prison sentence. If
charged as a minor they will be subject to the juvenile justice
system.
In the scenario a 14 year old girl is claiming to have had
consensual intercourse with an adult male at a hotel and the
adult male has admitted to the relationship he would be
immediately arrested and charged with sexual battery. In this
case the criminal suspect, Jose Torres is 35 years of age. In
order for a crime to be considered statutory the offender must
be from the ages of 18 to the age of 21. Torres would be
charged with sexual battery and would be subject to up to thirty
years in jail if found guilty. All sexual offenders found guilty of
a sexual crime including statutory rape and sexual battery are
required to register on the states sex offender registry once they
have served their prison sentence.
Work Stress
Police work is highly stressful. They are confronted with
all types of danger and go through all different types of
traumatic experiences. In order to deal with the stress
associated with the job police need to apply stress-relieving
techniques to minimize the impact of the stress of the
investigation. The first technique is to always get a good night’s
sleep. When an investigator has not gotten enough sleep their
level of stress can increase. Having time to rest up and take a
break from the stress will help the investigator relieve the stress
at least for as long as they are away from work.
Another stress-relieving technique police can apply to their
stressful jobs is known as Rx3x. The prescription (Rx) is for

4. stress management activities three times (3x) a day which
includes 30-45 minutes of physical fitness aerobics or exercise
every day, buffer workout for stress reduction (Wimberger,
2011). Next the police investigator would do a buffer workout
between work and returning home followed by engaging in a 20
to thirty minutes of stress relief management. This could
include sitting quietly and meditating or engaging in breathing
techniques. Following the Rx3x the investigator could relieve
stress.
When a police officer experience stress at the crime scene
it can affect their ability to conduct a criminal investigation.
Police under too much stress could miss clues or important
pieces of evidence which could impact the outcome of the
investigation. Stress can alter how the investigator thinks and
cause difficulty in concentrating. The more a police officer
understands about stress and the effect it can have on the body
the better equipped they will be to be effective in their role of
investigator at the crime scene. When a police officer is
affected by stress the investigation could suffer.
When a police officer is experiencing extreme stress the
police department can take steps to provide outlets for the
police officer to relieve this stress. The police department can
provide police officers with counseling services that give them
a pace to talk through their stress as well as provide police with
different stress relieving techniques that will help them reduce
the experiences of stress they experience will in the field.
Police officers commit a high number of suicides which need to
be addressed through support from the police department
(Brown, 2006). The trauma police experience at a crime scene
can impact every aspect of their lives including their job.
If a police officer is under a great deal of stress the police
officers supervisor should offer them the opportunity to take a
few vacation days plus introduce them to the potential stress
relieving techniques they can apply. The department can also
instruct the stressed police officer to seek out counseling or to
take time off until the feelings of stress have subsided. There

5. are many beneficial techniques the department can suggest to
help the investigator relieve stress. The department can only
force the police officer to seek out the assistance of a counselor
if the police officer has experienced a trauma.
Many police departments require the police officer to see a
counselor to address the trauma before they are allowed to
return to work. Police officer stress can lead to tragic results if
not properly addressed. Police officers exposed to traumatic
crime scene and stressful crime situations will be far more
likely to become substance abusers or to commit suicide than
officers that take steps to relieve the stress (Brown, 2006). The
criminal investigators job is to solve the crime but if they are
stressed they will be less effective.
References
Brown, R. (2006). Stress Management Real Life Story - First
Responders Get Help Dealing With
Stress. Retrieved August 8, 2014 from
http://www.criticalincidentstress.com/help_for_first_responders
England, D. (2011). What is Sexual Battery in Mississippi?
Retrieved August 8, 2014 from
http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/criminal-
defense/sex-crimes/mississippi
Mince-Didier, A. (2008).Mississippi Statutory Rape Laws.
Retrieved August 8, 2014 from
http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/mississippi-
statutory-rape-laws.htm
Wimberger, L. (2011). A Stress Management Prescription for
Law Enforcement and Police
Officers. Retrieved August 8, 2014 from
http://www.copsalive.com/a-stress-management-
prescription-for-law-enforcement/