State v. Denning

In State v. Denning, 155 Ariz. 459, 747 P.2d 620 (App. 1987), the Court reviewed an earlier version of the statute, A.R.S. 13-1406(A), which provided that a person committed sexual assault with a minor by "intentionally or knowingly engaging in sexual intercourse . . . with any person without consent." 155 Ariz. at 461, 747 P.2d at 622. Section (B) of the statute provided that if the victim is "under fifteen years of age" the sexual assault would be a class 2 felony "punishable pursuant to A.R.S. 13-604.01," id., which attached a presumptive term of 20 years in prison as a "dangerous crime against children." Id. at 461 n.1, 747 P.2d at 622 n.1. The defendant in Denning initially contended on appeal that the state failed to establish his knowledge of the victim's age at the time of the offense. Id. at 461, 747 P.2d at 622. The Court held there that the language of 13-1406(A) did not include knowledge of the victim's age as an element of the crime -- it required only: (1) that a defendant intentionally or knowingly engaged in sexual intercourse with "any person," and; (2) that it was without the victim's consent. Id. The Court further found that subsection (B) of the statute did not engraft on A.R.S. 13-1406(A) "the additional element that a defendant know the victim is under fifteen years of age," but simply allowed for the enhancement of the sentence when the victim was under 15. Id.