Dallas v. State

Citations

• 76 Fla. 358
• 79 So. 690

Syllabus

<p>1. In a prosecution for liaving carnal intercourse with an unmarried woman under the age of eighteen years, of previous chaste character, the previous chaste character of the prosecutrix is a material element of the offense to be alleged and proven.</p> <p>2. When the State has met the requirement of proving the •previous chaste character of the prosecutrix, it is competent for the defendant to introduce evidence that the prosecutrix, prior to the alleged acts of carnal intercourse with the defendant, had associated with persons of low morals, conducted herself in a free and intimate manner with men, or permitted them to take liberties with her.</p> <p>3. In a prosecution for having carnal intercourse with an unmarried woman under the age of eighteen years, of previous chaste character, it is reversible error for the Court to charge that “as to the previous caste character of the prosecuting witness the law presumes that every unmarried female is of chaste character until she has been, shown to be otherwise.”</p>