The criminal offense of sexual assault generally involves forced sexual intercourse, sodomy, or other sexual penetration of another person—against the person’s will and without the person’s consent.

Sexual assault laws vary from state to state, and in some states the traditional criminal offense of rape is defined as the criminal offense of sexual assault. In some states the touching, groping, or pinching of the body of another person without the person’s consent and for purposes of sexual gratification is defined as sexual assault—and in other states such nonconsensual sexual contact is defined as the criminal offense of sexual battery or forcible touching, for example.

Sexual assault and related criminal offenses are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In California, sexual assault encompasses a range of non-consensual sexual activities. The state's penal code defines rape as an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person not the spouse of the perpetrator, under certain conditions including force, fear, or when the victim is incapable of giving legal consent due to a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability. Other forms of sexual assault in California include acts of sodomy, oral copulation, and penetration by a foreign object, performed against a person's will or with a person who is unable to resist due to intoxication, unconsciousness, or other factors. Additionally, California recognizes the crime of sexual battery, which refers to the non-consensual touching of an intimate part of another person for sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse. These offenses are serious crimes and carry severe penalties, including imprisonment and mandatory registration as a sex offender.