Rhode Island General Laws 11-37-6. Third degree sexual assault
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this chapter, “position of authority” means and includes, but is not limited to, any person who is acting in the place of a parent and charged with any of a parent’s rights, duties, or responsibilities to a person under the age of eighteen (18) years, or a person who is charged with any duty or responsibility for the health, welfare, or supervision of a person under the age of eighteen (18) years, either independently or through another, no matter how brief, at the time of the act.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 11-37-6
- Accused: means a person accused of a sexual assault. 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
- 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
- Sexual penetration: means sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, and anal intercourse, or any other intrusion, however slight, by any part of a person's body or by any object into the genital or anal openings of another person's body, or the victim's own body upon the accused's instruction, but emission of semen is not required. 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
(b) A person is guilty of third-degree sexual assault if:
(1) He or she is over the age of eighteen (18) years and engaged in sexual penetration with another person over the age of fourteen (14) years and under the age of consent, sixteen (16) years of age; or
(2) He or she is over the age of eighteen (18) years and engaged in sexual penetration or sexual contact with another person over the age of fourteen (14) years and under the age of eighteen (18) years, under circumstances whereby:
(i) The accused has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of the accused’s legal, professional, or occupational status; or
(ii) The accused is otherwise acting in a position of authority with respect to the victim.
(iii) It shall not be a violation of subsection (b)(2) of this section if the parties are:
(A) Engaging in sexual penetration or contact consensually;
(B) Between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty (20) years; and
(C) No more than thirty (30) months apart in age.
History of Section.
P.L. 1979, ch. 302, § 2; P.L. 1988, ch. 219, § 1; P.L. 2022, ch. 153, § 1, effective June 27, 2022; P.L. 2022, ch. 154, § 1, effective June 27, 2022.