LA Times Column: Under CA Law, Spousal Rape Gets Special Treatment. A New Bill Could Change That

Who would have thought, in the year 2021, that a man who rapes his wife in California is guilty of a lesser crime than a man who rapes someone to whom he’s not married?

Who would have thought that a man convicted of “spousal rape” in this state does not face a mandatory three-, six- or eight-year prison term and may instead receive probation?

Or that he may not have to register as a sex offender, as every other convicted rapist must?

Or that if his wife is physically or mentally disabled, he may not have committed a crime at all?