Sexual assaults

The legal definitions

Predatory sexual assault

This is the most serious type of crime and carries a maximum sentence of life in prison under the New York penal code. It is “predatory” when the offender, in addition to sexual assault, seriously injures the victim or threatens them with the “immediate use of a dangerous instrument”.

The crime is also “predatory” if the offender commits sexual assault against more than one person. It carries a maximum sentence of life and a minimum of 10 years. Criminal sex act in the first degree

This is when the accused is alleged to have engaged in “sexual conduct” by “forcible compulsion”.

It is also used when the accused is alleged to have engaged in “sexual conduct” with someone who is “incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless”. It is a

Class B felony and carries a minimum sentence of five years, and a maximum of 25.

Rape in the first degree

A person is guilty of this when they engage in “sexual intercourse” with another person by “forcible compulsion” – compelling the victim through the use of “physical force or the threat of immediate death, physical injury or kidnapping”.

It also applies in cases of sexual intercourse with a victim who is

“incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless”. The minimum sentence is five years and the maximum is 25.

Rape in the third degree

A person is guilty of this when they engage in sexual intercourse with someone where “lack of consent is by reason of some factor other than incapacity to consent”. It is a class E felony and the maximum sentence is four years in jail, the minimum is probation.