NC State tennis player charged with ‘crimes against nature’
by Matt | November 7th, 2007 |See the Q-Notes Nov. 17 issue for the editorial: “Oral Sodomy & Tennis.”
A member of the North Carolina State University tennis team has been charged with ‘crimes against nature’ after allegedly performing oral sex on a sleeping team mate.
Nineteen-year-old Dejon Bivens (pictured right), a freshman and graduate of Charlotte Country Day High School, was arrested on Oct. 27 and charged with “crimes against nature.”
According to The Technician, NC State’s student newspaper:
The victim was having a party in his apartment the night of the incident, and he told police that he went to bed around 3 a.m. on Oct. 27.
Upon entering his room, he said he found the suspect sleeping in his closet. The victim stated that once he was in his bed, he heard the suspect leave the closet and lay down on the floor next to the his bed.
The victim told officers that he awoke at 5 a.m. and found Bivens leaning over him, performing oral sex.
The victim fled the bedroom to inform others in the apartment of the incident. He then went back into his bedroom, found Bivens pretending to be asleep, and began striking him.
The “crimes against nature” charge is a Class I felony in North Carolina, and historically used to prosecute gay men engaging in consensual sexual relations. The law states, “If any person shall commit the crime against nature, with mankind or beast, he shall be punished as a Class I felon.”
Pictured right: The N.C. State University 2007-2008 Tennis Team
According to the N.C. Gay Advocacy Legal Alliance (NCGALA) legal guide, “‘Crime against nature’ has been defined by North Carolina courts as ’sexual intercourse contrary to the order of nature,’ including all ‘acts of bestial character whereby degraded and perverted sexual desires are sought to be gratified.’ While this definition is incredibly broad, enough so that it could conceivably include masturbation or sexual positions once thought “unnatural,” the CAN law is now only used in cases involving oral sex (fellatio and cunnilingus) and anal intercourse.”
See the Q-Notes Nov. 17 issue for the editorial: “Oral Sodomy & Tennis.”
4 Responses to “NC State tennis player charged with ‘crimes against nature’”
I’ve bumped into this NC law before, and it strikes me as a statute that is not facially unconstitutional, but can easily be unconstitutional “as applied” (i.e., to criminalize conduct that is expressly protected by Lawrence and its progeny).
So the question then becomes: why haven’t NC’s politicians reworded the statute to remove the potential “as applied” difficulties.
(Note: That’s a rhetorical question.)
By KipEsquire on Nov 7, 2007
Kip… It is a good question and one that has certainly been asked of North Carolina legislators before.
In my editorial in the Nov. 17 issue of Q-Notes, I’ll address teh NC CAN law as it applies to this case and why I think this isn’t necessarily the criminal charge that should have been put on this boy.
By Matt Comer on Nov 7, 2007
Sure. “Battery” comes to mind, not to mention “sexual assault” and a few others. =)
By KipEsquire on Nov 7, 2007
He should be kicked off team and be charged with rape.. what if it was a female and she woke up with him on top of her, it would be different. Why ….. thats crap
By jay adams on Mar 4, 2008