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 Connecticut, rape is legally referred to as sexual assault, and it is a felony offense. The state's statutes define various degrees of sexual assault, with first-degree sexual assault being the most serious, often involving the use of force, the threat of force, or the incapacitation of the victim through drugs, alcohol, or mental disability. Connecticut law recognizes that sexual intercourse with someone who is unable to consent due to intoxication, unconsciousness, or mental incapacity constitutes sexual assault. Additionally, Connecticut law includes provisions that address sexual contact without consent in specific circumstances, such as with public servants, clergy members, mental health service providers, and employees of assisted living or nursing homes. The state also criminalizes the conduct of a healthcare provider who uses reproductive material from a donor other than the one intended by the patient during assisted reproduction procedures. The penalties for sexual assault in Connecticut are severe and can include substantial prison time.