Unlawful sexual touching without consent
Sexual assault and battery is sexual contact by force between a defendant and a victim. If sexual contact is committed with a weapon, causes harm, is aided by another person, or the victim is under thirteen, the offense becomes an aggravated sexual battery which, in most states, carries substantial prison terms.
The primary defense against sexual battery is the consent of the alleged victim
Consent is a defense to a charge of sexual battery and rape, but only if the consent was found to be voluntary, intelligent, and knowing. The failure of the accuser to offer physical resistance will not be deemed consent. Instead, such alleged evidence is something the jury can consider when determining whether the sexual interaction was consensual or coerced submission.
