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 Tennessee, sexual assault is legally referred to as 'sexual battery' and is defined under Tennessee Code Annotated (T.C.A.) § 39-13-505. The law states that unlawful sexual contact with another person without their consent for sexual gratification constitutes sexual battery. This includes the intentional touching of the victim's, the accused's, or any other person's intimate parts, or the clothing covering the immediate area of the intimate parts, if the touching can be reasonably construed as being for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification. Sexual battery is a Class E felony if the offender does not use force or coercion, and a Class C felony if force or coercion is used. Additionally, aggravated sexual battery, which involves sexual contact with a victim who is less than 13 years old or where the contact results in bodily injury, is a Class B felony under T.C.A. § 39-13-504. Rape, which involves sexual penetration, is addressed separately under T.C.A. § 39-13-503 and is a more severe offense, classified as a Class B felony, or Class A felony under certain aggravating circumstances. Consent is a key factor in these offenses, and lack of consent can be due to various reasons, including the victim's incapacity to consent due to age, mental disability, or intoxication.