Sexual Battery Definition (Overview: All You Need To Know)

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What is sexual battery?

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What Is Sexual Battery

Sexual battery refers to a type of crime where the offender engages in sexual activity with the victim without his or her consent and it does not involve any form of penetration.

In other words, this is a criminal offense where you may have unwanted sexual touching, undesirable touching of a person’s private parts, or any form of intimate touching without the victim’s consent.

In some states, sexual battery is also referred to as criminal sexual contact crime as it pertains more to sexual touching than a sexual act such as intercourse or anal sex.

Sexual Consent

The element of consent is an important aspect of sexual battery crimes.

When a person is forced to sexually touch another person, forced to give or receive a kiss, or is misled about the reason why the offender is physically or sexually touching the victim, then the act may be prosecuted as a crime.

For a person to engage in sexual activity, sexual behavior, or conduct, he or she must have given real and true consent.

If the offender, through acts of fraud, misrepresentation, coercion, or force commits sexual and physical contact, the conduct in many states will be considered as a crime.

In the following cases, sexual consent may be absent:

• When the person was threatened 
• There was acts of violence
• There was extortion 
• The victim was unconscious
• The victim was mentally incapacitated 
• The victim was unable to appraise the nature of his or her conduct 
• The victim was physically helpless 

Sexual Touching

Sexual touching means that a person touches another person directly on his or her body or over the person’s clothing for the purpose of sexual gratification or arousal.

In many states, the act of sexual battery requires that the offender commit the act for the purpose of his or her sexual pleasure or gratification.

Crime Classification

Every state has specific classifications of various types of sexual crimes.

As such, it’s important to look at the applicable state laws to ensure that you determine what type of sexual battery charge can be classified as a misdemeanor or felony.

For instance, in some states, unlawful touching or contact can be charged as either a felony or misdemeanor depending on the nature of the case.

On the other hand, in other states, if there was skin to skin contact without clothing, that could be a felony charge.

Sexual Battery Definition 

What is considered sexual battery?

To better answer this question, let’s look at the definition of sexual battery to better understand its meaning.

Let’s start with how I define sexual battery:

This is a “generic” definition of sexual batter to help you understand what constitutes sexual battery.

However, you must bear in mind that every state and jurisdiction will legally define sexual battery charges and so the legal definitions may vary from one state to another.

Let’s see how some states define sexual battery.

Legal Definition 1: California Penal Code

Under the California Penal Code, sexual battery is legally defined as:

As you can see, in California, sexual battery includes:

• Sexual touching when a person is restrained 
• Sexual touching when a person is institutionalized for medical treatment 
• Sexual touching when the victim is unconscious 
• Acts of unwanted masturbation 

Legal Definition 2: Florida Statutes

In Florida, what is sexual battery?

Section 794.011 of the Florida Statutes defines sexual battery as follows:

As you can see, in Florida, sexual battery includes any act of penetration with a sexual organ or an object.

It’s important to consider the actual statutory meaning of sexual battery in the jurisdiction where a criminal charge is made or the crime committed so you have a proper understanding of the scope of the crime of sexual battery.

Sexual Battery Examples

Let’s look at a few examples of sexual battery crimes to better define sexual battery.

Some examples of crimes that are considered sexual battery crimes are:

• Tapping someone on their butt 
• Touching a person’s genital parts 
• Forcing the victim to give a kiss on the mouth
• Forcing the victim to play with sex toys
• Touching a woman’s breasts 

Let’s take a concrete example.

Imagine that a patient is sexually touched by a doctor, dentist, or medical practitioner when the doctor claimed that it was necessary for the medical checkup or process when that was not true.

The doctor’s conduct could be charged as sexual battery.

Another example may involve a photographer who claims that he or she needs to intimately touch the victim to prepare her for the photo shoot when that’s not true and undesirable.

That too can constitute sexual battery.

Consequences of Sexual Battery Conviction

Knowing what it means to be charged with a sexual battery crime is important as the consequences of a criminal conviction are serious.

Although every state will define the punishment for a sexual battery conviction and the severity of the punishment may also depend on the circumstances of the crime, the defendant’s criminal history, and so on, I want to give you a quick overview of the possible consequences.

If a person is convicted or found guilty of a sexual battery charge, here are some possible consequences:

• Potential conviction of a felony crime or misdemeanor depending on the state and nature of the case
• Jail time or prison
• Severe fines 
• Loss of reputation in the community 
• Difficulty in finding a job with a criminal record
• Inability to find affordable housing 
• Possibility of losing school financial assistance 
• Loss of professional license 

For example, in Ohio, a person can be found guilty of a third-degree felony for sexual battery and be exposed to one to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, and the registration on the Ohio sex offender list.

If the conviction is a second-degree felony, it can be two to eight years in prison, a fine of up to $15,000, and registration on the Ohio sex offender list.

There’s no doubt that if you are faced with a misdemeanor sexual battery charge or felony sexual battery, you should consult with an experienced defense attorney so you can understand your legal rights and options.

The consequences are harsh and you want to make sure you get the best possible defense as you can.

Sexual Battery Meaning Takeaways 

So there you have it folks!

What does sexual battery mean?

What kind of crime is sexual battery?

“Sexual battery” refers to a type of crime where a person illegally and without the victim’s consent intimately touches or gets into contact with sexual body parts.

Sexually battered meaning can encompass the following acts:

• Forcing someone to perform sexual touching or contact
• Threatening someone to commit sexual contact
• Extort someone or use violence to intimately touch or be touched 
• A person sexually touching another while knowing very well that the other person is not consenting 
• Intimately touching another when the person is incapacitated, unconscious, or physically helpless 
• Touching someone through acts of fraud and misrepresentation 

If you are involved in a sexual batter matter, it’s important to contact a defense attorney to provide you with legal advice and representation.

Every sexual battery case is different and so it’s important to hire a qualified lawyer to help you navigate the case and mitigate any adverse consequence of a sexual battery charge or conviction.

I hope this article helped you better understand the sex battery definition, what does sexually battered means, and why it’s important to have a good of understand of its meaning.

Let’s look at a summary of our findings.

Definition Sexual Battery

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