Vermont Statutes Title 13 Sec. 3254
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 13 Sec. 3254
- Actor: means a person charged with sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault. See
- Consent: means the affirmative, unambiguous, and voluntary agreement to engage in a sexual act, which can be revoked at any time. See
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Incapable of consenting: means the person:
- Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
- sexual act: means conduct between persons consisting of contact between the penis and the vulva, the penis and the anus, the mouth and the penis, the mouth and the vulva, or any intrusion, however slight, by any part of a person's body or any object into the genital or anal opening of another. See
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
§ 3254. Trial procedure; consent
In a prosecution for a crime defined in this chapter or section 2601 of this title:
(1) Lack of consent may be shown without proof of resistance.
(2) Submission resulting from the use of force, threat of force, or placing another person in fear does not constitute consent.
(3) Consent shall not be demonstrated by evidence prohibited under section 3255 of this title.
(4) A sleeping or unconscious person cannot consent.
(5) A person shall be deemed to have acted without the consent of the other person where the actor:
(A) knew or reasonably should have known that the other person was incapable of consenting to the sexual act or lewd and lascivious conduct;
(B) knew or reasonably should have known that the other person was unaware that a sexual act or lewd and lascivious conduct was being committed; or
(C) knew or reasonably should have known that the other person was incapable of consenting to the sexual act or lewd and lascivious conduct with the actor because the person was substantially impaired by alcohol, drugs, or other intoxicants. (Added 1977, No. 51, § 1; amended 1993, No. 100, § 13; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 57; 2021, No. 68, § 3.)