ORS 163.375 Rape in the First Degree: Penalties and Registration

In Oregon, a first degree rape sentence is set by Ballot Measure 11 at a mandatory minimum of 100 months in prison, or 300 months when the victim is under 12 years old. The offense is defined by ORS 163.375 as a Class A felony, and a judge cannot go below those minimums for any reason. A conviction also brings sex offender registration, a long or lifetime period of post-prison supervision, a potential fine up to $375,000, and permanent federal consequences including a firearms ban.

What Counts as First-Degree Rape in Oregon

ORS 163.375 defines rape in the first degree as sexual intercourse with another person under any one of four circumstances:¹

The victim is subjected to forcible compulsion.
The victim is under 12 years of age.
The victim is under 16 and is the offender’s sibling (full or half blood), child, or spouse’s child.
The victim is incapable of consent because of mental incapacitation, physical helplessness, or an inability to understand the nature of the conduct.

Only one of these conditions needs to be present. Which one applies matters, because it drives the length of the mandatory minimum sentence.

One boundary worth naming: ORS 163.375 does not contain a general age-gap provision for teenagers outside family or household relationships. Older-perpetrator cases with teenage victims in non-familial contexts are prosecuted under Oregon’s second- or third-degree rape statutes, which carry different thresholds and lower minimums.

How the Key Terms Are Defined

Several of the triggering conditions are broader than people expect.

Forcible compulsion means compelling someone through physical force or through a threat, spoken or implied, that puts the victim in fear of death, physical injury, or kidnapping. The threat can involve harm to the victim or to someone else, and it can involve immediate or future harm.² The law does not require physical resistance from the victim; what matters is whether qualifying force or a qualifying threat was used.

Physical helplessness covers a person who is unconscious or otherwise physically unable to communicate unwillingness, such as someone asleep, under anesthesia, or affected by a medical condition that prevents voluntary movement.²

Mental incapacitation refers to a person who has been rendered unable to understand or control their own conduct at the time of the offense. The statute separately covers a person who cannot appraise the nature of the conduct, which can arise from a developmental or cognitive disability.² In either case the law treats the person as legally unable to consent, with no requirement that physical force occurred.

For the age-based subsections, the state does not need to prove force, threats, or incapacity at all. Intercourse with a child under 12 is first-degree rape on its own, and intercourse with a victim under 16 in the listed family or household relationship is first-degree rape on its own.¹

The Mandatory Minimum Prison Sentence

Ballot Measure 11, codified at ORS 137.700, sets mandatory minimum prison terms that judges cannot reduce. For first-degree rape, the minimum depends on which subsection of ORS 163.375 was violated.

100 months, roughly eight years and four months, for convictions based on forcible compulsion, the familial relationship with a victim under 16, or incapacity to consent.³
300 months, or 25 years, for convictions involving a victim under 12 years of age.⁴

These are floors. A judge can impose a longer sentence but cannot go below them. During the mandatory term the person is not eligible for post-prison supervision, temporary leave, or any form of sentence reduction. The statute states that no reduction is permitted “for any reason whatsoever.”³ The time is served in a state prison facility.

The 300-month minimum for child victims under 12 is one of the longest mandatory sentences in Oregon’s criminal code.

Fines

As a Class A felony, first-degree rape carries a potential fine of up to $375,000.⁵ If the offender gained money or property through the crime, the court may instead impose a fine up to double the amount of that gain, after making a specific finding about the amount. The fine actually imposed varies with the facts of the case and the defendant’s financial situation.

Post-Prison Supervision After Release

Prison is not the end of the sentence. After release, the person enters an active supervision period, and its length depends on which subsection of ORS 163.375 produced the conviction.

For first-degree rape based on forcible compulsion, a familial relationship, or incapacity to consent, supervision continues until the combined prison time and supervision equal the maximum indeterminate sentence allowed by law for the offense.⁶

For a conviction involving a victim under 12, if the offender was at least 18 at the time of the offense, supervision lasts for the rest of their life. The first 10 years must involve active supervision by a parole officer. After that, the person must be actively tracked, which can include electronic monitoring, for the remainder of their life.⁶

Supervision conditions typically include limits on where the person can live, where they can work, and who they can associate with. A violation can send the person back into custody.

Sex Offender Registration

Anyone convicted of a sex crime in Oregon must register with law enforcement after release. ORS 163A.010 requires the person to report in person to the Oregon State Police, a city police department, or a county sheriff’s office within 10 days of release.⁷ After that, the person must also report within 10 days of any address change, name change, or job or school change, must report once a year within 10 days of their birthday, and must give at least 21 days’ notice before any international travel.

Oregon uses a three-level classification system. Level 1 is the lowest assessed risk and triggers the narrowest notification. Level 3 is the highest and triggers broader public disclosure.⁸ Classification turns on the individual’s assessed risk of reoffending, though the offense itself weighs heavily in that assessment.

Registration is not always permanent. A person classified at Level 1 can petition the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision for relief from the registration requirement, and a person at Level 3 can petition for reclassification to Level 2.⁹ The board is not required to grant these petitions, but the pathway exists.

Federal Consequences of a Class A Felony

Federal law attaches its own consequences to any felony conviction, independent of state sentencing.

Firearms

Federal law permanently bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing firearms or ammunition.¹⁰ The ban applies regardless of the actual sentence imposed and covers purchasing, possessing, shipping, and receiving.

Federal Jury Service

A felony conviction disqualifies a person from serving on a federal jury unless civil rights have been legally restored.¹¹

International Travel

Federal law requires registered sex offenders to notify their registration jurisdiction at least 21 days before any international travel, including destination, dates, flight details, and lodging.¹² Local authorities forward that information to the U.S. Marshals Service, which may alert foreign governments. For offenders convicted of crimes involving minors, the International Megan’s Law requires the U.S. Department of State to add a unique identifier to the person’s passport, which flags the passport when it is scanned at a foreign border. There is no emergency exception to the 21-day rule, and failure to comply can bring separate federal prosecution.

1
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 163.375 – Rape in the First Degree
2
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 163.305 – Definitions
3
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 137.700 – Offenses Requiring Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences
4
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 137.700 – Offenses Requiring Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences
5
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 161.625 – Fines for Felonies
6
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 144.103 – Term of Active Post-Prison Supervision for Person Convicted of Certain Offenses
7
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 163A.010 – Reporting by Sex Offender Discharged, Paroled or Released from Correctional Facility or Another United States Jurisdiction
8
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 163A.100 – Risk Classification
9
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 163A.125 – Relief from Reporting Obligation for Sex Offenders Classified Under ORS 163A.100
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
11
United States Courts. Juror Qualifications, Exemptions and Excuses
12
Office of Justice Programs. SORNA: Information Required for Notice of International Travel