Crime Victim Center of Erie County

Our mission:
Reducing the impact of crime through counseling, education and advocacy.

If you have been a victim, know a victim or have witnessed a crime–we can help.
All services are free and confidential. Call us at 1 (800) 352-7273.

Terms and definitions

Rape - A person commits rape when he or she engages in sexual intercourse with a complainant: by forcible compulsion; by the threat of forcible compulsion that would prevent resistance by a person of reasonable resolution; who is unconscious or where the person knows that the complainant is unaware that the sexual intercourse is occurring; where the person has substantially impaired the complainant’s power to appraise or control his or her conduct by administering drugs or intoxicants for the purpose of preventing resistance; who suffers from a mental disability that renders complainant incapable of consent; or who is less than 13 years old.

Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse - A person commits involuntary deviate sexual intercourse when he or she engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another person without consent or who is under the age of 16.

Statutory Sexual Assault - A person commits statutory sexual assault when he or she engages in sexual intercourse with another person who is not his or her spouse, who is under the age of 16, and when the offender is at least four years older than the complainant.

Sexual Assault - A person commits sexual assault when he or she engages in sexual intercourse with a complainant without the complainant’s consent.

Aggravated Indecent Assault - A person commits aggravated indecent assault when he or she engages in penetration (however slight) of the genitals or anus of a person with part of the actor’s body without consent; if the person is under 13; or the person is under 16 and the actor is at least four years older.

Incest - A person commits incest if he or she knowingly marries or has sexual intercourse with a relative.

Stalking - Prior conviction and prior PFA. Follows or does repeated acts to cause fear or emotional distress.

Indecent Assault - A person commits indecent assault if he or she has indecent contact with another person who is not his or her spouse.

Indecent Exposure - A person commits indecent exposure when he or she exposes his or her genitals for the purpose of arousing or gratifying his or her own sexual desire.