(a) Especially aggravated rape of a child is unlawful sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant or the defendant by a victim, if the victim is less than eighteen (18) years of age, accompanied by three (3) or more of the following circumstances:

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A felony15 to 60 yearsup to $50,000
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-13-535

  • Bodily injury: includes a cut, abrasion, bruise, burn or disfigurement, and physical pain or temporary illness or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Coercion: means a threat, however communicated, to:
    (A) Commit any offense. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Defendant: means a person accused of an offense under this title and includes any person who aids or abets the commission of such offense. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Force: means compulsion by the use of physical power or violence and shall be broadly construed to accomplish the purposes of this title. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • sex: means a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth and evidence of a person's biological sex. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) The defendant tortures the victim during the commission of the offense;
(2) The defendant mutilates the victim during the commission of the offense;
(3) The defendant also commits the offense of kidnapping, as defined in § 39-13-303, or false imprisonment, as defined in § 39-13-302, against the victim;
(4) The defendant also commits the offense of involuntary labor servitude, as defined in § 39-13-307, or trafficking for a commercial sex act, as defined in § 39-13-309, against the victim;
(5) The defendant has, at the time of the commission of the offense, more than one (1) prior conviction for a sexual offense or a violent sexual offense, as those terms are defined in § 40-39-202;
(6)

(A) The defendant is, at the time of the offense, in a position of trust, or has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of the defendant’s legal, professional, or occupational status and uses the position of trust or power to accomplish the sexual penetration; or
(B) The defendant has, at the time of the offense, parental or custodial authority over the victim by virtue of the defendant’s legal, professional, or occupational status and uses the position to accomplish the sexual penetration;
(7) The offense occurs during an attempt by the defendant to perpetrate first degree murder in violation of § 39-13-202;
(8) The defendant subjects the victim to extreme cruelty during the commission of the offense;
(9) Force or coercion is used to accomplish the act, and the defendant is armed with a weapon or any article used or fashioned in a manner to lead the victim reasonably to believe it to be a weapon;
(10) The defendant causes serious bodily injury to the victim;
(11) The defendant’s commission of the offense involved more than one (1) victim; or
(12) The defendant knows or has reason to know that the victim is:

(A) Mentally defective;
(B) Mentally incapacitated; or
(C) Physically helpless.
(b) Especially aggravated rape of a child is a Class A felony and shall be punished as follows:

(1) If the defendant was a juvenile at the time of the commission of the offense, then the sentence must be from Range III, as set forth in title 40, chapter 35; and
(2) If the defendant was an adult at the time of the commission of the offense, then the defendant shall be punished by imprisonment for life without possibility of parole.
(c) A person may not be convicted of both a violation of this section and a violation of § 39-13-502, § 39-13-531, § 39-13-534, or § 39-13-117 if the facts supporting the prosecution arise out of the same criminal conduct.
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