New Jersey lawmaker Troy Singleton is trying to introduce a bill stating if someone lies in order to have sex with someone, it should be considered "sexual assault by fraud," according to NJ.com.
According to the bill, "sexual assault by fraud" would be defined as "an act of sexual penetration to which a person has given consent because the actor has misrepresented the purpose of the act or has represented he is someone he is not," NJ.com reported.
"I truly believe that we have to look at the issue of rape as more than sexual contact without consent," Singleton said, according to NJ.com.
The bill currently states that any other sexual assault already recognized by law is just as serious as sexual assault by fraud, NJ.com reported.
Sexual assault by fraud could be punishable by 10 to 20 years depending on whether the crime is a first or second degree crime depending on "the circumstances surrounding the act," according to NJ.com.
"Fraud invalidates any semblance of consent just as forcible sexual contact does. This legislation is designed to provide our state's judiciary with another tool to assess situations where this occurs and potentially provide a legal remedy to those circumstances," Singleton added, NJ.com reported.
Defense attorney Alan Zegas said the bill definition of fraud is too vague to be turned into law, according to Salon.com.
"What if a man were to say to a woman 'I love you' and engage in sex and he really didn't love her? It could be as simple as that," Zegas said, according to NJ.com. "The definition is so broad that it doesn't put the citizens of the state on fair notice of what it is that constitutes the crime."
