New Jersey Statutes 2C:14-2. Sexual assault
Attorney's Note
Under the New Jersey Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| crime of the first degree | between 10 and 20 years | up to $200,000 |
| crime of the second degree | between 5 and 10 years | up to $150,000 |
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 2C:14-2
- Actor: means a person accused of an offense proscribed under this act. See New Jersey Statutes 2C:14-1
- Coercion: as used in this chapter shall refer to those acts which are defined as criminal coercion in section 2C:13-5(1), (2), (3), (4), (6) and (7). See New Jersey Statutes 2C:14-1
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Mentally incapacitated: means that condition in which a person is rendered temporarily incapable of understanding or controlling his conduct due to the influence of a narcotic, anesthetic, intoxicant, or other substance administered to that person without his prior knowledge or consent, or due to any other act committed upon that person which rendered that person incapable of appraising or controlling his conduct. See New Jersey Statutes 2C:14-1
- person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
- Physically helpless: means that condition in which a person is unconscious or is physically unable to flee or is physically unable to communicate unwillingness to act. See New Jersey Statutes 2C:14-1
- Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
- Plea agreement: An arrangement between the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the defendant in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for special considerations. Source:
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- Severe personal injury: means severe bodily injury, disfigurement, disease, incapacitating mental anguish or chronic pain. See New Jersey Statutes 2C:14-1
- Sexual contact: means an intentional touching by the victim or actor, either directly or through clothing, of the victim's or actor's intimate parts for the purpose of degrading or humiliating the victim or sexually arousing or sexually gratifying the actor. See New Jersey Statutes 2C:14-1
- Sexual penetration: means vaginal intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio or anal intercourse between persons or insertion of the hand, finger or object into the anus or vagina either by the actor or upon the actor's instruction. See New Jersey Statutes 2C:14-1
- Victim: means a person alleging to have been subjected to offenses proscribed by this act. See New Jersey Statutes 2C:14-1
(1) The victim is less than 13 years old;
(2) The victim is at least 13 but less than 16 years old; and
(a) The actor is related to the victim by blood or affinity to the third degree, or
(b) The actor has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of the actor’s legal, professional, or occupational status, or
(c) The actor is a resource family parent, a guardian, or stands in loco parentis within the household;
(3) The act is committed during the commission, or attempted commission, whether alone or with one or more other persons, of robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, homicide, aggravated assault on the victim or a person other than the victim, burglary, arson, or criminal escape;
(4) The actor is armed with a weapon or any object fashioned in such a manner as to lead the victim to reasonably believe it to be a weapon and threatens by word or gesture to use the weapon or object;
(5) The actor is aided or abetted by one or more other persons and the actor commits the act using coercion or without the victim’s affirmative and freely-given permission;
(6) The actor commits the act using coercion or without the victim’s affirmative and freely-given permission and severe personal injury is sustained by the victim;
(7) The victim, at the time of sexual penetration, is one whom the actor knew or should have known was:
(a) physically helpless or incapacitated ;
(b) intellectually or mentally incapacitated ; or
(c) had a mental disease or defect which rendered the victim temporarily or permanently incapable of understanding the distinctively sexual nature of the conduct, including, but not limited to, being incapable of providing consent, or incapable of understanding or exercising the right to refuse to engage in the conduct.
Aggravated sexual assault is a crime of the first degree.
Except as otherwise provided in subsection d. of this section, a person convicted under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be sentenced to a specific term of years which shall be fixed by the court and shall be between 25 years and life imprisonment of which the person shall serve 25 years before being eligible for parole, unless a longer term of parole ineligibility is otherwise provided pursuant to this Title.
b. An actor is guilty of sexual assault if the actor commits an act of sexual contact with a victim who is less than 13 years old and the actor is at least four years older than the victim.
c. An actor is guilty of sexual assault if the actor commits an act of sexual penetration with another person under any one of the following circumstances:
(1) The actor commits the act using coercion or without the victim’s affirmative and freely-given permission, but the victim does not sustain severe personal injury;
(2) The victim is on probation or parole, or is detained in a hospital, prison or other institution and the actor has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of the actor’s legal, professional or occupational status;
(3) The victim is at least 16 but less than 18 years old and:
(a) The actor is related to the victim by blood or affinity to the third degree; or
(b) The actor has supervisory or disciplinary power of any nature or in any capacity over the victim; or
(c) The actor is a resource family parent, a guardian, or stands in loco parentis within the household;
(4) The victim is at least 13 but less than 16 years old and the actor is at least four years older than the victim;
(5) The victim is a pupil at least 18 but less than 22 years old and has not received a high school diploma and the actor is a teaching staff member or substitute teacher, school bus driver, other school employee, contracted service provider, or volunteer and the actor has supervisory or disciplinary power of any nature or in any capacity over the victim. As used in this paragraph, “teaching staff member” has the meaning set forth in N.J.S. 18A:1-1
Sexual assault is a crime of the second degree.
d. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of this section, where a defendant is charged with a violation under paragraph (1) of subsection a. of this section, the prosecutor, in consideration of the interests of the victim, may offer a negotiated plea agreement in which the defendant would be sentenced to a specific term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years, during which the defendant shall not be eligible for parole. In such event, the court may accept the negotiated plea agreement and upon such conviction shall impose the term of imprisonment and period of parole ineligibility as provided for in the plea agreement, and may not impose a lesser term of imprisonment or parole or a lesser period of parole ineligibility than that expressly provided in the plea agreement. The Attorney General shall develop guidelines to ensure the uniform exercise of discretion in making determinations regarding a negotiated reduction in the term of imprisonment and period of parole ineligibility set forth in subsection a. of this section.
amended 1979, c.178, s.26; 1983, c.249, s.2; 1989, c.228, s.3; 1997, c.194, s.1; 2001, c.60; 2004, c.130, s.13; 2011, c.232, s.4; 2013, c.214, s.3; 2014, c.7; 2019, c.108, s.1; 2019, c.474.