Sojka

Appellant John F. Sojka was convicted by a jury of one count of attempted rape by force. He argues that the trial court failed to instruct the jury that he could not be guilty of attempted rape if he reasonably but mistakenly believed the victim consented to intercourse. We agree that the trial court should have instructed on Sojka’s mistaken belief in the victim’s consent, and that its failure to do so was prejudicial. We therefore reverse the judgment. In light of our holding, we do not address Sojka’s other claims of error.

BACKGROUND

Sojka met the victim early one evening in a bar when she was delivering some posters promoting a musical production. The two struck up a conversation and Sojka bought her a beer. One beer led to another and a bit later the two left and went to another bar where they socialized with other patrons, continued drinking, and played pool until about midnight. Over the course of the evening Sojka and the victim were friendly and mildly amorous with one another. They left the bar and Sojka offered to give the victim a ride home. He says that once the two got into his car, they kissed and caressed each other for about 15 minutes. The victim does…