SAFETY ALERT: COMPUTER USE CAN BE MONITORED AND IS IMPOSSIBLE TO COMPLETELY CLEAR. IF YOU ARE IN DANGER, PLEASE USE A SAFER COMPUTER, CALL YOUR LOCAL HOTLINE AND/OR CALL THE NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE (800) 799-SAFE (7233). IF YOU ARE AT A SAFER COMPUTER, CLICK HERE TO READ MORE. THERE IS ALWAYS A COMPUTER TRAIL, BUT YOU CAN LEAVE THIS SITE QUICKLY IF YOU CLICK ESCAPE. 
1862
First sexual assault statute was passed by the Dakota Territory Legislature.
General Laws defined rape as "the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will".
Proof of emission was not necessary for conviction of rape.
Rapists were to be "deemed infamous" and deprived of their right to vote, serve as a juror, or hold any office of honor or trust
Revised Codes redefined rape and established degrees of rape.
Rape was "An act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a female not the wife of the perpetrator".
Rape could be charged when the female was under age 10, where she was incapable of giving consent, where her resistance was overcome by force, where she was drugged or unconscious, or where she believed the person committing the act was her husband.
A male under 14 was incapable of committing rape unless proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
First degree rape was rape of a female under the age of 10, rape of an incompetent, or rape accomplished by force overcoming the victim’s resistance.
Second degree rape encompassed rape under all other circumstances
Territorial Legislature raised the age to which rape applied from age 10 to age 14.
North Dakota was given statehood; all territorial laws remained in place.
North Dakota Codes were again revised.
First degree rape applied only to those females age 16 and under or those incapacitated by lunacy or force.
Second degree rape charge was not allowed where female was over age 10, male was under 20, and the female consented.
525 North 4th Street | Bismarck, ND 58501 | Phone: (701) 255-6240 Toll-Free: (888) 255-6240
