(a) Aggravated rape is unlawful sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant or the defendant by a victim accompanied by any of the following circumstances:

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A felony15 to 60 yearsup to $50,000
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-13-502

  • Bodily injury: includes a cut, abrasion, bruise, burn or disfigurement, and physical pain or temporary illness or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Coercion: means a threat, however communicated, to:
    (A) Commit any offense. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Defendant: means a person accused of an offense under this title and includes any person who aids or abets the commission of such offense. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Force: means compulsion by the use of physical power or violence and shall be broadly construed to accomplish the purposes of this title. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
(1) Force or coercion is used to accomplish the act and the defendant is armed with a weapon or any article used or fashioned in a manner to lead the victim reasonably to believe it to be a weapon;
(2) The defendant causes bodily injury to the victim;
(3) The defendant is aided or abetted by one (1) or more other persons; and

(A) Force or coercion is used to accomplish the act; or
(B) The defendant knows or has reason to know that the victim is:

(i) Mentally defective;
(ii) Mentally incapacitated;
(iii) Physically helpless; or
(iv) A vulnerable adult, as defined in § 39-15-501, with an intellectual disability.
(b) Aggravated rape is a Class A felony.