RAPALLO, rn-pal'1u. A winter resort in the Province of Genoa, Italy, situated on the Gulf of Genoa, 16 miles by rail east by south ,,f Genoa. (Map: Italy, D 3). Rapallo has manufactures of lace and olive oil, and fisheries of coral and tunny. Population (commune), in 1901, 10,765.
RAPE (from ME., MLGer. raper, to seize, snatch, Ger. raffen, to snatch, Eng. rap, to carry away, seize, confused with the unrelated Lat. rupere, to seize). The crime of having carnal knowledge of a woman against her consent and by force. The essence of the offense is that force be used, and it is immaterial what is the age of the woman, and whether she is married or single, chaste or unchaste. The only difference caused by the habitual unchastity of the woman is that in such a case it is less easy to satisfy the jury that the element of consent was wanting. The two elements of rape are the carnal knowledge and the force used. As to the element of re sistance on the part of the woman, or force on the part of the man, several niceties often occur in the application of the law. from the great variety of circumstances attending this crime. With regard to an idiot woman. or an infant of tender years, it has been held that ii is not necessary to prove resistance on her part. and that the crime may he committed though she made no resistance. if consent be extorted by fear and threats, or where several men join to gether, and resistance is useless. this is the same as using violence to overpower the woman. Where the woman is stupefied by drink so that the power of resistance is annihilated it is the same as knocking her down. In ease force is used in the first instance, but the woman afterwards con sents, the crime of rape will not be committed, though the evidence may establish the crime of assault. Some difficult eases have occurred with reference to married women who have been be guiled by men personating their husbands, and so been, in a sense. cheated out id their consent. But it has been repeatedly decided by courts, both in England and America, that such an offense was not rape. Other courts have held it to be rape,
declaring that the act which the woman per mitted under such deceit cannot properly be re garded as the real act which took place. Modern statutes have declared this to be the right view, They frequently, also, punish the carnal knowl edge of girls under sixteen years of age, whether they have given consent or not.
One of the important circumstances attending the crime of rape is the mode of proof. and in this respect it differs from other crimes. It is held to be all but essential, as a corroboration of the woman's story, that if her cries of resistance were not heard, at all events she should have, immediately after the offense, complained on the first opportunity to her friends or relatives. It is not allowed to give in evidence the particulars of such complaint, but merely the fact that she made a complaint against some person. Unless this important particular be proved, her evidence is looked upon with great suspicion, and may be discredited by the jury. One of the common de fense' to a charge of rape is the unehastity of the woman. the object being to render it unlikely that she did nut consent, and hence it is in practice considered a proper question for the prisoner's counsel to put to her whether she had not had connection with the prisoner before or with other men; but at the same time she is cautioned by the judge that she is not bound to answer such questions unless she likes. If, however, she de nies the accusation, witnesses may be called to contradict her on that point.
At common law, a boy under fourteen years of age was conclusively presumed incapable of the crime of rape. By statute, in many of our States, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence. Consult: May, The Law of Crimes (Boston, 18`93) ; Beale, Cases on Criminal Law ( Cam bridge, Mass., 1894) ; Clark and Lindsall, A Treatise on the Law of Crimes (St. Paul, 1900).