Unlawful intercourse with minor a crime of violence
In U.S. v. Gomex-Mendez, the Ninth Circuit held that the California offense of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under age 16 by a person over the age of 21 was properly considered to be “statutory rape,” a crime expressly considered to be a crime of violence for purposes of sentence of enhancement. The Court rejected the defendant’s argument that because California did not allow for the defense of a reasonable belief that the minor was over 16, the crime should not be considered statutory rape. The Court reasoned that a state crime need only include the elements of the generic offence to be considered for sentence enhancement purposes; possible defenses are not relevant to that inquiry.
