What are the laws around sexual assault in Missouri, and how can victims get help?

What are the laws around sexual assault in Missouri, and how can victims get help?

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - A high-profile sexual assault case at Cornell University is raising questions worldwide. Including what constitutes consent and why prosecutors sometimes decline to file charges.

Under Missouri law, there’s a difference in how these cases are handled.

“New York law is substantially different than Missouri law. It sounds like in New York that the level of intoxication, if it’s voluntary, it doesn’t matter, but in Missouri, it’s completely opposite of that. The level of intoxication matters, even if it was voluntary,” said Adam Woody, a criminal defense lawyer who works many sexual assault cases.

Woody says here in the Show-Me State, rape or sodomy in the first degree is sentenced harshly. For rape, it’s a minimum of ten years with no probation, and for sodomy it’s a minimum of five.

“When someone is incapacitated in Missouri, they formally lack legal consent, the legal ability to consent to any sexual conduct, whether that’s involuntary intoxication or voluntary intoxication,” said Woody.

Under Missouri law, “incapacitated” means: a temporary or permanent physical or mental condition in which a person is unconscious, unable to appraise the nature of his or her conduct, or unable to communicate unwillingness to an act.

“If they’re not legally capable of making that analysis, that reasonable decision as to their conduct due to intoxication, that’s not something that they can legally do, and the other person who is a participant in the act can be charged and prosecuted,” said Woody.

In 2025, the Victim Center, Springfield, Missouri) a local non-profit that helps all victims of violent or sexual crimes, received more than 1,800 calls to its 24/7 crisis hotline.

“They can get immediate stabilization; they can talk to someone who will believe them; they will talk to someone who can help with resources and be an advocate for them right away when they need help,” said Tara Bensone, the center’s executive director.

Benson says trauma affects all aspects of a person’s life. Some clients can’t work, go to school, or interact with family or friends.

“What we want to do is really work with someone to help them have their power and control back, so that they can start that daily functioning again,” said Benson. “When we say we are providing life-changing and life-saving services, it really is that way.”

If you or someone you know needs help, you can call the Victim Center (Springfield, Missouri) at 417.864.7233 (SAFE).

By Zoe Mowery

Published: Oct. 1, 2026, KY3 News, at 5:53 PM CDT, Reprinted here for informational purposes only.