In People v. Merfert (87 Misc. 2d 803 [Dutchess County Ct 1976]), the defendant, a female, acted jointly with two males to rape a woman. The statute in effect at the time, Penal Law 130.35 [1], provided that only a male could commit the crime of rape in the first degree, although a female could be an accessory to rape (see Penal Law 20.05 [3]). The court held that, even though the defendant could not have personally committed the rape under the statute, there was sufficient evidence to establish her accessorial liability for the crime before the grand jury, based upon her actions and her shared intent with the males who committed the rape.