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 New York, the criminal offense of sexual assault encompasses a range of non-consensual sexual acts. New York law primarily refers to these offenses as rape, criminal sexual act, sexual abuse, forcible touching, and aggravated sexual abuse, among others, depending on the nature and severity of the act. Rape in New York involves non-consensual sexual intercourse and is classified into degrees based on factors such as the use of force, the victim's age, and the perpetrator's relationship to the victim. Criminal sexual act refers to non-consensual oral or anal sexual conduct. Sexual abuse includes the non-consensual touching of sexual or other intimate parts of another person for the purpose of gratification or degradation. Forcible touching involves the forcible touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of another person. These offenses are detailed in the New York Penal Law, which outlines the specific elements of each crime, the required level of lack of consent, and the applicable penalties for offenders.