California Court Reverses Rape Conviction as Rapist Pretended to be Boyfriend

The 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles has reversed a rape conviction, as the man impersonated the woman's boyfriend.

According to the court's decision:

"A man enters the dark bedroom of an unmarried woman after seeing her boyfriend leave late at night, and has sexual intercourse with the woman while pretending to be the boyfriend. Has the man committed rape? Because of historical anomalies in the law and the statutory definition of rape, the answer is no, even though, if the woman had been married and the man had impersonated her husband, the answer would be yes."

It concludes with: 

"Therefore, we reluctantly hold that a person who accomplishes sexual intercourse by impersonating someone other than a married victim's spouse is not guilty of the crime of rape of an unconscious person"

So, rape is now no longer a crime if the attacker pretends to be the boyfriend of an unmarried woman?

According to police reports and the prosecution, at the beginning of the rape, the woman had been asleep, but when the act awoke her she realized it wasn't her boyfriend, and tried to fight him off.

It is unclear exactly how the man pretended to be her boyfriend.

The defense's argument based everything on everything being consensual and argued that the defendant's original confession, to police, had been changed, by the officers.

Julio Morales, who's first trial ended in a hung jury, will now see a third trial, for the same crime.