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Criminal Law keyed to Dripps
Commonwealth v. Berkowitz
Citation:
537 Pa. 143, 641 A.2d 1161.
ProfessorScott Caron
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
The victim, a female college student, had a drink and was waiting in her dormitory lounge for her boyfriend. When her boyfriend failed to appear, she went to another dorm to find her friend, Earl Hassel. She knocked, but did not receive an answer. Finding that the doorknob was unlocked, she entered the room. The victim originally believed the man sleeping in the room was Hassel, but it was actually Hassel’s roommate, the defendant. Defendant asked the victim to stay and give him a backrub. She declined and sat on the floor. The defendant then moved to the floor next to her, began inappropriately touching her, and unsuccessfully attempted to put his penis in her mouth. Both then stood up, and the defendant locked the door. Defendant then pushed the victim onto the bed, removed her underpants and inserted his penis in her vagina, before ejaculating on her stomach. At trial, the victim testified that she said “no” throughout the encounter, but was unclear about the use of physical force used against her.
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Topic Resources
3m 19sTopic Outline 