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 New Jersey, the criminal offense of rape is legally referred to as sexual assault. New Jersey law defines sexual assault as an act of sexual penetration with another person under circumstances involving force, coercion, or without the consent of the victim. Consent cannot be given if the victim is mentally incapacitated, intoxicated, unconscious, or physically helpless. New Jersey statutes also consider it sexual assault if the perpetrator is in a position of power or authority over the victim, such as a correctional staff member, a member of the clergy, a mental health service provider, or an employee of a nursing home, and uses this position to coerce the victim into sexual activity. Additionally, sexual assault charges can be brought against health care service providers who deceive a patient during an assisted reproduction procedure by using human reproductive material from a donor that is not the intended donor. Sexual assault is a serious felony in New Jersey, and those convicted can face substantial prison time, fines, and mandatory registration as a sex offender under Megan's Law.