Rhode Island General Laws 11-37-4. Second degree sexual assault
A person is guilty of a second-degree sexual assault if he or she engages in sexual contact with another person and if any of the following circumstances exist:
(1) The accused knows or has reason to know that the victim is mentally incapacitated, mentally disabled, or physically helpless.
(2) The accused uses force, element of surprise, or coercion.
(3) The accused engages in the medical treatment or examination of the victim for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or stimulation.
History of Section.
P.L. 1979, ch. 302, § 2; P.L. 1980, ch. 273, § 1; P.L. 1981, ch. 119, § 1; P.L. 1984, ch. 59, § 1; P.L. 1986, ch. 191, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 157, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 164, § 1.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 11-37-4
- Accused: means a person accused of a sexual assault. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-37-1
- Mentally disabled: means a person who has a mental impairment which renders that person incapable of appraising the nature of the act. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-37-1
- Mentally incapacitated: means a person who is rendered temporarily incapable of appraising or controlling his or her conduct due to the influence of a narcotic, anesthetic, or other substance administered to that person without his or her consent, or who is mentally unable to communicate unwillingness to engage in the act. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-37-1
- person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
- Physically helpless: means a person who is unconscious, asleep, or for any other reason is physically unable to communicate unwillingness to an act. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-37-1
- Sexual contact: means the intentional touching of the victim's or accused's intimate parts, clothed or unclothed, if that intentional touching can be reasonably construed as intended by the accused to be for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or assault. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-37-1
- Victim: means the person alleging to have been subjected to sexual assault. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-37-1