In 1979, the North Carolina Supreme Court made a ruling that continues to reverberate today: A man can’t be guilty of rape if the woman first consented to sex — even if she later asks him to stop.
But the longstanding legal loophole — the only of its kind in the nation — could be revoked if state lawmakers pass a bill before the legislative session wraps up around the end of June.
So far, there are no signs that they plan to move it out of committee — worrying advocates for sexual assault victims who say the law is working against protecting them.
“To me, it’s obvious the law needs to change,” Raleigh attorney Kristopher Hilscher told NBC News.
Hilscher represents Wake County woman Amy Guy, who identified herself publicly during an interview with NBC affiliate WRAL last month and said her estranged husband raped and assaulted her in December.
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