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 Massachusetts, rape is defined under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 22. The law states that a person commits the offense of rape by engaging in sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse with another person by force and against their will, or with a person who is incapable of giving consent due to being incapacitated. This includes situations where the victim is intoxicated, unconscious, or mentally disabled. Rape in Massachusetts is a felony and carries severe penalties, including imprisonment. The state's definition of rape also recognizes the lack of consent in cases involving abuse of authority or trust, such as with public servants, clergy, mental health service providers, and employees of assisted living or nursing homes under certain circumstances. Additionally, Massachusetts law criminalizes the use of reproductive material from a donor other than the one intended by the patient in assisted reproduction procedures by health care providers, which can be considered a form of sexual assault. The specific statutes provide detailed descriptions of various circumstances and degrees of the offense, reflecting the seriousness with which the state treats these crimes.