This The opinion stems from the case of Francois Momulu Khalil, a Minneapolis man who was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual misconduct because the victim was drunk and considered by the jury to be mentally incapacitated. Francois Momolu Khalil was convicted of one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct for raping an intoxicated woman while she was unconscious in 2017. Minnesota is among a majority of states that treat intoxication as a barrier to consent only if the victim became drunk against their will. REMOVAL AND FURTHER PROTECT THE PRESS (WHOM ALSO REPORT ON ARRESTS) She blacked out instead, waking up on a couch and found the man she had just met was allegedly sexually assaulting her, according to court records. ga('ads.send', { Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul Thissen wrote the opinion for the court and explained: Mentally incapacitated means that a person under the influence of alcohol, a narcotic, anesthetic, or any other substance, administered to that person without the persons agreement, lacks the judgment to give a reasoned consent to sexual contact or sexual penetration. MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. arrest? A person is mentally incapacitated if she lacks the judgement to give reasoned consent to sexual penetration due to the influence of alcohol, a narcotic, or any other substance administered without her agreement., These instructions were given without a comma in between any other substance administered and without her agreement. This is plausibly, at least partly, why the jury required clarification from the court as to whether voluntary intoxication of alcohol fit within the statutory definition of mentally incapacitated. The district court determined that voluntary intoxication was sufficient to be considered mentally incapacitated.. The court reversed a lower-court decision to convict Francios Momolu Khalil of third-degree sexual criminal conduct for assaulting a woman who was drunk and considered "mentally incapacitated,". The FBI, using the Uniform Crime Reporting definition of rape, reported that there were 139,380 offenses made known to law enforcement in 2018 and the Bureau of Justice found that there were 459,310 known rape/sexual assault cases in 2019 (using a separate methodology that considers sexual assault separately from rape). INFORMING THE PUBLIC OF ARRESTS AND TO HOLD LAW ENFORCEMENT Almost four years later, the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously ruled this week that Francios Momolu Khalil, 24, cannot be found guilty of rape because the woman got drunk voluntarily beforehand. J.S., as per court documents, told Khalil, No, I dont want to. Khalil replied, But youre so hot and you turn me on. J.S. SIMPLY PUT: IF THE COURTS SAW FIT TO EXPUNGE The statute includes a qualifier (administered to that person without the persons agreement) preceded by series of similar nouns (intoxicating substances) which grammatically indicates that the qualifier is meant to apply to each of the nouns, especially because of the comma which separates the series from the qualifier. The new ruling defines "mental incapacitation" in Minnesota as only referring to intoxication against one's will or knowledge. eventAction: 'click_image_ads' Both the State and Khalil agree that a fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct (non consensual sexual conduct) would have been appropriate based on the facts of this case. See [] A Hennepin County jury in 2019 convicted him of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Otherwise, nobody would ever have a fair trial.. STORIES, ORIGINAL EDITORIAL ARTICLES (UNDER CATAGORIES - BLOG) AND As per Hennepin County prosecutors, on May 13, 2017, Khalil encountered a woman outside a Dinkytown bar whod just consumed five shots of vodka and a prescription narcotic. and never had sex with her. was mentally incapacitated or physically helpless. His attorney declined to comment on the decision. On Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Francios Momolu Khalil, who stands accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017. STATE OF MINNESOTA IN COURT OF APPEALS A19-1281 State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Francios Momolu Khalil, Appellant. In 2017, Francios Momolu Khalil approached a woman outside a bar in Minneapolis and invited her to a party. And that burden is high.. Sexual assault survivors and advocates decried the ruling but said they weren't surprised. The woman, whod taken shots and a prescription narcotic before meeting Khalil, fell asleep on his couch. A19-1281. Some are worried about the ruling's ramifications. let gads_event; They chose to retain the voluntary/involuntary distinction, thereby allowing for precisely the result that a rapist would escape conviction on the grounds that the victim had consumed alcohol on their own. This recent Minnesota court ruling comes to show that there are many legal loopholes that relate to sexual misconduct and sexual violence. MUGSHOTS.COM DOES NOT PROVIDE CONSUMER REPORTS AND IS NOT A CONSUMER ALL MUGSHOT LAWS WERE DESIGNED TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM FEES FOR We are mindful of and concerned with the fact that, wrote Thissen, nearly half of all women in the United States have been the victim of sexual violence in their lifetimeincluding an estimated 10 million women who have been raped while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He continued, remarking as to what other legislatures have been doing, With this level of sexual violence, legislatures across the country have enacted statutes aimed at prioritizing consent and protecting intoxicated victims of rape and sexual assault, regardless of how the victim became intoxicated., To underscore the contrast with Minnesotas failure to adjust its sexual assault laws, the judge continued, But today we undertake the task of interpreting the definition of mentally incapacitated that the Minnesota Legislature enacted in Minn. Stat. OUR DATABASE CANNOT BE USED TO MAKE DECISIONS Our laws must clearly reflect that understanding, and today's Supreme Court ruling highlights the urgency lawmakers have to close this and other loopholes throughout our CSC law," Rep. Moller said. redistributed by Mugshots.com and is protected by }); According to the Minnesota County Attorneys Associations amicus brief filed for this case, 10 million women in the U.S have been raped while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. }); When she woke up, sometime after 7 in the morning, she saw her shorts around her ankles. In the decision written by Justice Paul Thissen, the state Supreme Court said the lower courts definition of mentally incapacitated in this case unreasonably strains and stretches the plain text of the statute because J.S. The question whether the person is under arrest or not depends not on the legality of the arrest, but on whether the person has been deprived of personal liberty of movement. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider ALL ARRESTS ARE MERELY She has introduced a bill to amend the statute. Almost half of all women in the U.S. have been sexually assaulted in their life, including an estimated 10 million women in the U.S. have been raped while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Thissen wrote, citing a brief in the case. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. She pointed to Khalils case to argue that some alleged offenders seek to prey on people in that kind of condition. . Afterward, a man named Francois Momolu Khalil and his friends invited her and her friend to a party, but took the girls to their home instead. Sign up here. was drunk before she met Khalil. Francois Momolu Khalil, Case No. The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a Maple Grove mans felony conviction for sexual assault because the victim got herself drunk before the incident. Facts: On March 24, 2021 the Supreme Court of Minnesota ruled in State of Minnesota, Respondent v. Francois Momolu Khalil, Appellant. Crime & Public Safety | She lost consciousness again. Emailus. The state Supreme Court pointed to the Legislature for how the statute was written. "As a poor but proud immigrant amongst Boston's elite, he didn't want people to look down on him. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ This approach reflects a structural understanding that legislators are the elected representatives of the people and that legislative bodies are institutionally better positioned than courts to sort out conflicting interests and information surrounding complex public policy issues.. The state's highest court released the opinion Wednesday, also granting Francios Momolu Khalil, a man convicted of criminal sexual conduct, a new trial. Khalil prevailed because the precise facts of the case did not match the requirements of the statute under which he was prosecuted. Instead, his lawyers argued that the victim wasnt mentally incapacitated, as required under the states third-degree criminal sexual assault law. Justice Paul Thissen explained that decisions cannot be made . }); Data provided to our visitors is estimated and may not be accurate. Rather, its for situations where the victim was given alcohol surreptitiously (for example, when someone spikes a punch bowl at a party), he wrote. Khalil drove the women to a house in northern Minneapolis, prosecutors allege. A jury convicted Francios Momolu Khalil of third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a mentally incapacitated or physically helpless complainant in violation of 609.344, subdivision 1 (d) (2020). Korto Momulo, who appeared in the fifth season of Project Runway, as well as on Project Runway All Stars, slowed the pace at Fashion Week El Paseo on Wednesday night. There may be reasonable disagreements as to what laws mean (which is why the judiciary exists) but in these situations, citizens must put pressure on their state and federal representatives to make changes to the laws and to close loopholes that exist, particularly for such important and sensitive topics as sexual assault and rape. Hug your tribe tighter, don't find time .. make time! The ruling comes in the case of man who was accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met following an incident where she was denied entry to a bar for being too drunk. hitType: 'event', OPEN RECORD LAWS WERE WRITTEN TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC; BY She agreed, but soon found out there was no gathering, she later testified. Megan Gerges is from Warren, NJ, studying Political Science and Psychology. The Supreme Court argued that the lower court that convicted the perpetrator, Francois Momolu Khalil, previously had stretched the definition too far. TO BE CLEAR: WE DO NOT ACCEPT PAYMENT FOR Insider has reached out to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office for comment. }); MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: The Minnesota Supreme Court has issued a controversial ruling. The woman then lost consciousness and woke up between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. with her shorts around her ankles, she testified. "Victims who are intoxicated to the degree that they are unable to give consent are entitled to justice. Minnesota lawmakers created a bizarre loophole in the states rape statute and, as a result, a rape conviction was overturned on the basis that the victim hadnt been forcibly intoxicated. Legal loopholes that relate to sexual misconduct and sexual violence to your inbox weekday! That decisions can not be made wasnt mentally incapacitated, as per court documents, told Khalil Appellant. 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