A man wrestled a woman to the ground in a dark carport with the intent to rape her; he fled when the headlights of an approaching car frightened him off. What crime occurred?

• A. Attempted rape
• B. Rape
• C. Simple assault
• D. Assault with intent to commit rape

Answer: (D)

When a person has a specific intent to commit a violent crime and takes a substantial step toward its commission, they can be charged with assault with that intent even if the crime isn’t completed. Here, the man had the explicit goal of raping the woman and he actively wrestled her to the ground, which is a clear overt act toward that crime. The fact that he fled when frightened by headlights doesn’t erase the intent or the act, and rape did not actually occur because there was no sexual intercourse. So the strongest charge given the facts is assault with intent to commit rape. It isn’t simply rape, since the act wasn’t completed, nor is it simple assault, because there was a clear intent to commit a specific, serious offense and a direct, forcible step toward that offense.