§ 29:220 — Article 120. Sexual assault

Louisiana § 29:220

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 29: Minerals, Oil and Gas and Environmental Quality

Text

§220. Article 120. Sexual assault
A. Any person subject to this Code who commits any of the following acts is guilty
of sexual assault and shall be punished as a court-martial may direct:
(1) A sexual act upon another person by any of the following:
(a) Threatening or placing another person in fear.
(b) Making a fraudulent representation that the sexual act serves a professional
purpose.
(c) Inducing a belief by any artifice, pretense, or concealment that the person is
another person.
(2) A sexual act upon another person without the consent of the other person, or
when the person knows or reasonably should know that the other person is asleep,
unconscious, or otherwise unaware that the sexual act is occurring.
(3) A sexual act upon another person when the other person is incapable of
consenting to the sexual act due to any of the following:
(a) Impairment by any drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance, and that condition
is known or reasonably should be known by the person.
(b) A mental disease or defect or physical disability, and that condition is known or
reasonably should be known by the person.
B. Any person subject to this Code who commits or causes sexual contact upon or
by another person, if to do so would violate Subsection A of this Article, had the sexual
contact been a sexual act, is guilty of abusive sexual contact and shall be punished as a
court-martial may direct.
C. In a prosecution under this Article, in proving that a person made a threat, it need
not be proven that the person actually intended to carry out the threat or had the ability to
carry out the threat.
D. An accused may raise any applicable defenses available under this Chapter or the
Rules for Court-Martial. Marriage is not a defense for any conduct in issue in any
prosecution under this Article.
E. In this Code, for purposes of this Article unless the context otherwise requires, the
following terms shall have the following meanings ascribed herein:
(1) "Bodily harm" means any offensive touching of another, however slight,
including any nonconsensual sexual act or nonconsensual sexual contact.
(2) "Consent" means:
(a) A freely given agreement to the conduct at issue by a competent person. An
expression of lack of consent through words or conduct means there is no consent. Lack of
verbal or physical resistance shall not constitute consent. Submission resulting from the use
of force, threat of force, or placing another person in fear also does not constitute consent.
A current or previous dating, social, or sexual relationship by itself or the manner of dress
of the person involved with the accused in the conduct at issue shall not constitute consent.
(b) A sleeping, unconscious, or incompetent person cannot consent. A person cannot
consent to force causing or likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm or to being rendered
unconscious. A person cannot consent while under threat or fear or under the circumstances
described in Subparagraph (A)(1)(b) or (c) of this Article.
(c) All of the surrounding circumstances shall be considered in determining whether
a person gave consent.
(3) "Force" means:
(a) The use of a weapon.
(b) The use of such physical strength or violence as is sufficient to overcome,
restrain, or injure a person.
(c) Inflicting physical harm sufficient to coerce or compel submission by the victim.
(4) "Grievous bodily harm" means serious bodily injury and includes fractured or
dislocated bones, deep cuts, torn members of the body, serious damage to internal organs,
and other severe bodily injuries. Grievous bodily harm does not include minor injuries such
as a black eye or a bloody nose.
(5) "Incapable of consenting" means the person is either:
(a) Incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct at issue.
(b) Physically incapable of declining participation in, or communicating unwillingness
to engage in, the sexual act at issue.
(6) "Sexual act" means any of the following:
(a) The penetration, however slight, of the penis into the vulva, anus, or mouth.
(b) Contact between the mouth and the penis, vulva, scrotum, or anus.
(c) The penetration, however slight, of the vulva or anus or mouth of another by any
part of the body or by any object, with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade any
person or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.
(7) "Sexual contact" means touching, or causing another person to touch, either
directly or through the clothing, the vulva, penis, scrotum, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh,
or buttocks of any person, with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade any person
or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. Touching may be accomplished by
any part of the body or an object.
(8) "Threatening or placing another person in fear" means a communication or action
that is of sufficient consequence to cause a reasonable fear that noncompliance will result in
the victim or another person being subjected to the wrongful action contemplated by the
communication or action.
(9) "Unlawful force" means an act of force committed without legal justification or
excuse.

Legislative History

Acts 2013, No. 303, §1; Acts 2022, No. 672, §1.