(1) A person is guilty of sexual abuse in the first degree when:
(a) He or she subjects another person to sexual contact by forcible compulsion; or

Attorney's Note

Under the Kentucky Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class C felonybetween 5 and 10 yearsbetween $1,000 and $10,000
Class D felonybetween 1 and 5 yearsbetween $1,000 and $10,000
For details, see § 532.060

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Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 510.110

  • Forcible compulsion: means physical force or threat of physical force, express or implied, which places a person in fear of immediate death, physical injury to self or another person, fear of the immediate kidnap of self or another person, or fear of any offense under this chapter. See Kentucky Statutes 510.010
  • Individual with an intellectual disability: means a person with significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, as defined in KRS Chapter 202B. See Kentucky Statutes 510.010
  • Mentally incapacitated: means that a person is rendered temporarily incapable of appraising or controlling his or her conduct as a result of the influence of an intoxicating substance administered to him or her without his or her consent or as a result of any other act committed upon him or her without his or her consent. See Kentucky Statutes 510.010
  • Physically helpless: means that a person is unconscious or for any other reason is physically unable to communicate unwillingness to an act. See Kentucky Statutes 510.010
  • Sexual contact: means the touching of a person's intimate parts or the touching of the clothing or other material intended to cover the immediate area of a person's intimate parts, if that touching can be construed by a reasonable person as being done:
    (a) For the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification of either party. See Kentucky Statutes 510.010

(b) He or she subjects another person to sexual contact who is incapable of consent because he or she:
1. Is physically helpless;
2. Is less than twelve (12) years old;
3. Is mentally incapacitated; or
4. Is an individual with an intellectual disability; or
(c) Being twenty-one (21) years old or more, he or she:
1. Subjects another person who is less than sixteen (16) years old to sexual contact;
2. Engages in masturbation in the presence of another person who is less than sixteen (16) years old and knows or has reason to know the other person is present; or
3. Engages in masturbation while using the Internet, telephone, or other electronic communication device while communicating with a minor who the person knows is less than sixteen (16) years old, and the minor can see or hear the person masturbate; or
(d) Being a person in a position of authority or position of special trust, as defined in KRS § 532.045, he or she, regardless of his or her age, subjects a minor who is less than eighteen (18) years old, with whom he or she comes into contact as a result of that position, to sexual contact or engages in masturbation in the presence of the minor and knows or has reason to know the minor is present or engages in masturbation while using the Internet, telephone, or other electronic communication device while communicating with a minor who the person knows is less than sixteen (16) years old, and the minor can see or hear the person masturbate.
(2) Sexual abuse in the first degree is a Class D felony, unless the victim is less than twelve (12) years old, in which case the offense shall be a Class C felony.
Effective: July 14, 2018
History: Amended 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 109, sec. 5, effective July 14, 2018. — Amended
2008 Ky. Acts ch. 72, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2008. — Amended 2006 Ky. Acts ch.
182, sec. 33, effective July 12, 2006. — Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 259, sec. 5, effective July 15, 2002. — Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 91, effective January
1, 1975.