MPC § 213.1: Rape and Related Offenses
What does Rape and Related Offenses (Model Penal Code) provide?
Section 213.1 addresses rape and related sexual offenses under the original MPC. As drafted in 1962, a male who has sexual intercourse with a female not his wife is guilty of rape if he compels her to submit by force or by threat of imminent death, serious bodily injury, extreme pain, or kidnapping to be inflicted on anyone, or he has substantially impaired her power to appraise or control her conduct by administering intoxicants without her knowledge, or the female is unconscious, or the female is less than 10 years old. Rape is a felony of the first degree if the victim was not a voluntary social companion who had previously permitted sexual liberties, and otherwise a felony of the second degree.
Source: Model Penal Code § 213.1
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Summary
Section 213.1 addresses rape and related sexual offenses under the original MPC. As drafted in 1962, a male who has sexual intercourse with a female not his wife is guilty of rape if he compels her to submit by force or by threat of imminent death, serious bodily injury, extreme pain, or kidnapping to be inflicted on anyone, or he has substantially impaired her power to appraise or control her conduct by administering intoxicants without her knowledge, or the female is unconscious, or the female is less than 10 years old. Rape is a felony of the first degree if the victim was not a voluntary social companion who had previously permitted sexual liberties, and otherwise a felony of the second degree.
It is important to note that the MPC's rape provision is widely regarded as the most outdated and criticized part of the Code. The original 1962 formulation reflected deeply problematic assumptions: it applied only to male perpetrators and female victims, it included a marital rape exemption, it defined rape primarily through physical force, and its grading distinctions based on the victim's prior relationship with the defendant have been universally condemned. The ALI undertook a major revision of Article 213, and in 2017 approved a substantially revised draft that eliminates the gender-specific language, removes the marital exemption, and modernizes the consent framework.
Despite its flaws, the original Section 213.1 introduced some elements that were progressive for its time, including recognizing drug-facilitated rape and statutory rape. Most states that adopted the MPC modified this section substantially, and modern sexual assault statutes bear little resemblance to the original MPC provision. Students studying this section should be aware of both its historical context and the extensive modern reforms.
Key Provisions
5 essential provisions of § 213.1
Original 1962 definition: male commits rape by compelling female to submit by force or threat of imminent death, serious bodily injury, extreme pain, or kidnapping
Also rape: substantially impairing victim's capacity through surreptitious intoxicants, intercourse with unconscious victim, or victim under age 10
Marital rape exemption (now universally rejected)
Grading distinguished between victims who were voluntary social companions and others (widely condemned)
Gross sexual imposition (lesser offense): compulsion by threat not amounting to force, or knowledge that victim is unaware of the nature of the act or mistakenly believes the actor is their spouse
MPC vs. Common Law
How the MPC approach to rape and related offenses differs from common law
Common law rape required carnal knowledge of a woman by force and against her will, and included the marital exemption. The original MPC did not substantially depart from common law on these points — it maintained the force requirement, gender specificity, and marital exemption. However, common law also imposed a resistance requirement (the victim had to resist to the utmost), which the MPC did not explicitly require, and some common law jurisdictions required corroboration of the victim's testimony, which the MPC also avoided. Modern reform has moved far beyond both the common law and original MPC: most states now use gender-neutral language, have eliminated marital exemptions, replaced force requirements with consent-based standards, eliminated resistance requirements, and enacted rape shield laws. The 2017 ALI revisions to Article 213 reflect these modern developments, though they have been controversial in their specific formulations.
Exam Relevance
How § 213.1 appears on criminal law exams
Rape law appears on exams primarily as a vehicle for testing reform and policy analysis. Professors commonly ask students to compare the original MPC provision with common law and with modern reform statutes. Key issues: the shift from force-based to consent-based definitions; the elimination of the marital exemption; the abolition of the resistance requirement; the adoption of gender-neutral language; and the debate over affirmative consent standards. Students should be familiar with the historical progression and the policy arguments for and against various reforms. Some professors may present a fact pattern and ask students to analyze it under the original MPC, common law, and a modern statute to illustrate how outcomes differ. The section also raises important questions about the MPC's overall approach — if the Code's treatment of sexual offenses was so flawed, what does that say about codification in general?
Related Sections
Sections frequently studied alongside § 213.1