A person generally commits the criminal offense of rape by using force, threats of force, coercion, or fraud to have non-consensual sexual intercourse with another person. In some states this criminal offense is called sexual assault. Rape is a felony offense with significant jail or prison time as potential punishment.

Laws vary from state to state and some state laws also include in the definition of rape sexual intercourse with a person who is intoxicated by drugs or alcohol, unconscious, or mentally disabled and unable to consent to the sexual intercourse. And some states have a broad definition of the lack of consent to sexual contact constituting rape and include sexual contact with public servants (police officers, etc.), members of the clergy, mental health service providers, and employees of assisted living centers or nursing homes as lacking consent under some circumstances.

In some states it is rape or sexual assault for a health care services provider performing an assisted reproduction procedure to use human reproductive material from a donor other than the patient’s intended donor.

Rape or sexual assault laws are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In Alaska, rape is legally referred to as sexual assault and is codified under the Alaska Statutes Title 11.41. The state defines sexual assault in the first degree as engaging in sexual penetration with another person without consent and under certain aggravating circumstances, such as when the offender knows the victim is incapacitated, unaware that a sexual act is being committed, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol to a degree that they are incapable of consent. Alaska law also recognizes sexual assault in the second, third, and fourth degrees, with varying levels of severity and circumstances, including situations involving mental incapacity or when the victim is unaware that a sexual act is being committed. The state imposes severe penalties for sexual assault, which can include significant prison time. Additionally, Alaska statutes consider it sexual assault for a health care provider to engage in sexual penetration with a patient during the course of treatment or within a certain time period after the treatment relationship has ended. The laws are designed to protect individuals from non-consensual sexual acts and to punish those who exploit positions of trust or authority or take advantage of incapacitated individuals.