## Facts

- A 37-year-old man met a 20-year-old woman at LaGuardia Airport and used a false name while claiming to be a psychologist conducting research for a magazine article.
- He persuaded her to spend several hours with him in Manhattan, including visiting a singles bar.
- He induced her to go to an apartment he represented as one of his “offices.”
- In the apartment, he attempted to pull her from a sofa-bed and remove her clothing; she resisted.
- He then stated words to the effect that he could kill her, rape her, or physically hurt her, emphasizing that she was alone in a stranger’s apartment.
- The complainant testified she became frightened and thereafter submitted to sexual intercourse multiple times; she also described being pinned down by his body during an incident.
- There was no corroborating physical evidence of violence such as torn clothing, bruises, scratches, or similar injuries.
- The prosecution charged rape in the first degree, proceeding on a theory that the intercourse was compelled by threats and coercive pressure rather than overt violence.

## Issues

1. Whether the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant engaged in sexual intercourse “by forcible compulsion” under New York Penal Law §§ 130.35(1) and 130.00(8).
2. Whether deception, isolation, and psychologically coercive conduct—without proof of statutory physical force overcoming earnest resistance or a qualifying threat—can satisfy “forcible compulsion.”

## Decision

- The trial court, sitting without a jury, acquitted the defendant of rape in the first degree.
- The court held the People failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that intercourse occurred “by forcible compulsion” as statutorily defined.
- The court found the evidence consistent with reprehensible fraud and manipulation, but not with the degree of force or threat required for first-degree rape.
- The court relied on the ambiguity in the complainant’s account as to compulsion and the absence of physical indicia corroborating a forcible assault.

## Legal Principles

- First-degree rape under N.Y. Penal Law § 130.35(1) requires proof that sexual intercourse was accomplished “by forcible compulsion.”
- “Forcible compulsion” under N.Y. Penal Law § 130.00(8) requires either (a) physical force overcoming earnest resistance, or (b) an express or implied threat causing fear of immediate death, serious physical injury, or immediate kidnapping.
- Conduct amounting to fraud, deceit, charm, or psychological manipulation—without proof meeting the statutory definition of forcible compulsion—does not establish first-degree rape.
- When critical testimony about compulsion reasonably permits conflicting interpretations, the trier of fact may not find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

## Conclusion

The court acquitted because the People did not prove that the intercourse was compelled by statutory “forcible compulsion”; the evidence showed deception and intimidation but did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt either physical force overcoming earnest resistance or a qualifying immediate threat under the Penal Law.


People v. Evans, 85 Misc. 2d 1088, 379 N.Y.S.2d 912 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cnty. 1975)