Men Legally Allowed to Finish Sex Even if Woman Revokes Consent, NC Law States - Broadly
ne May evening in 1977, Beverly Hester was sexually assaulted. According to the summary included in the North Carolina Supreme Court decision State v. Way, she testified that the perpetrator, Donnie Way, threatened to beat her if she didn’t have sex with him while hanging out at a friend’s apartment. When she tried to leave the bedroom, he allegedly slapped her in the face.
Hester went on to tell the court that Way penetrated her anally and forced her to perform oral sex on him. She said he began having intercourse with her—though she begged him not to because she was a virgin—but stopped when she complained of severe stomach pains. Later, at the hospital, she told her mother she was raped.
Despite her testimony, the jury appeared to be swayed by the defense’s argument that Hester initially agreed to have sex with Way. During deliberations, they returned to ask the judge “whether consent can be withdrawn.” The judge noted that it could, especially in cases where intercourse has turned violent and thus “no longer consensual.” Way was convicted of second degree rape.
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