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Rape is first declared illegal in the colonies.

1648

LLP
REL
SV

Prior to this, there was some hesitancy to make rape illegal, since public law came second to Christian authority. "Sex crimes" like sodomy and adultery were already illegal, but rape was not. Whether or not sex was rape was considered a matter for a priest or minister to decide. With this new law, rape becomes the only capital offense listed without a biblical citation to justify the punishment.