1. A person is guilty of sexual assault if he or she:

(a) Subjects another person to sexual penetration, or forces another person to make a sexual penetration on himself or herself or another, or on a beast, against the will of the victim or under conditions in which the perpetrator knows or should know that the victim is mentally or physically incapable of resisting or understanding the nature of his or her conduct; or

(b) Commits a sexual penetration upon a child under the age of 14 years or causes a child under the age of 14 years to make a sexual penetration on himself or herself or another, or on a beast.

2. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 3 and 4, a person who commits a sexual assault is guilty of a category A felony and shall be punished:

(a) If substantial bodily harm to the victim results from the actions of the defendant committed in connection with or as a part of the sexual assault, by imprisonment in the state prison:

(1) For life without the possibility of parole; or

(2) For life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 15 years has been served.

(b) If no substantial bodily harm to the victim results, by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 10 years has been served.

3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, a person who commits a sexual assault against a child under the age of 16 years is guilty of a category A felony and shall be punished:

(a) If the crime results in substantial bodily harm to the child, by imprisonment in the state prison for life without the possibility of parole.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c), if the crime does not result in substantial bodily harm to the child, by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 25 years has been served.

(c) If the crime is committed against a child under the age of 14 years and does not result in substantial bodily harm to the child, by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 35 years has been served.

4. A person who commits a sexual assault against a child under the age of 16 years and who has been previously convicted of:

(a) A sexual assault pursuant to this section or any other sexual offense against a child; or

(b) An offense committed in another jurisdiction that, if committed in this State, would constitute a sexual assault pursuant to this section or any other sexual offense against a child,

is guilty of a category A felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life without the possibility of parole.

5. The provisions of this section do not apply to a person who is less than 18 years of age and who commits any of the acts described in paragraph (b) of subsection 1 if the person is not more than 2 years older than the person upon whom the act was committed unless:

(a) The person committing the act uses force or threatens the use of force; or

(b) The person committing the act knows or should know that the victim is mentally or physically incapable of resisting or understanding the nature of his or her conduct.

6. For the purpose of this section, “other sexual offense against a child” means any act committed by an adult upon a child constituting:

(a) Incest pursuant to NRS 201.180;

(b) Lewdness with a child pursuant to NRS 201.230;

(c) Sado-masochistic abuse pursuant to NRS 201.262; or

(d) Luring a child using a computer, system or network pursuant to NRS 201.560, if punished as a felony.

(Added to NRS by 1977, 1626; A 1991, 612; 1995, 1186; 1997, 1179, 1719; 1999, 431; 2003, 2825; 2005, 2874; 2007, 3255; 2015, 2235)