FORNICATION
Sexual intercourse between a man and a woman who are not married to each other.
Under the COMMON LAW, the crime of forni-
cation consisted of unlawful sexual intercourse
between an unmarried woman and a man,
regardless of his marital status. If the woman
was married, the crime was ADULTERY.
Today, statutes in a number of states declare
that fornication is an offense, but such statutes
are rarely enforced. On the theory that fornica-
tion is a victimless crime, many states do not
prosecute persons accused of the offense.
Under modern-day legislation, if one of the
two persons who engage in sexual intercourse is
married to another person, he (or she) is guilty
of adultery. Statutes in some states declare that if
the woman is married, the sexual act constitutes
adultery on the part of both persons, regardless
of the man’s marital status.
Fornication is an element of a number of
SEX OFFENSES such as rape, INCEST, and seduc-
tion.
Although penalties are seldom enforced,
they usually consist of a fine, imprisonment, or
both. In November of 1996 an Idaho prosecutor
brought fornication charges against a teenage
couple in an effort to curb teen pregnancy.
FORSWEAR
In CRIMINAL LAW, to make oath to that which the
deponent knows to be untrue. This term is wider
in its scope than perjury, for the latter, as a techni-
cal term, includes the idea of the oath being taken
before a competent court or officer and relating to
a material issue, which is not implied by the word
