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Kentucky · Snapshot 09/05/2026

KRS 35.681: Rape and sexual assault generally.

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Where this section sits in the code
  1. KRS Chapter 35

(1) Any person subject to this code is guilty of rape and shall be punished as a court -

martial may direct who commits a sexual act upon another person by:

(a) Using unlawful force against another person;

(b) Using force causing or likely to cause death or grie vous bodily harm to any

person;

(c) Threatening or placing that other person in fear that any person will be subject

to death, grievous bodily harm, or kidnapping;

(d) First rendering that other person unconscious; or

(e) Administering to that other person by force or threat of force, or without the

knowledge or consent of that person, a drug, intoxicant, or other similar

substance and thereby substantially impairing the ability of that other person

to appraise or control conduct.

(2) Any person subject to this code is guilty of sexual assault and shall be punished as a

court-martial may direct who:

(a) Commits a sexual act upon another person by:

1. Threatening or placing that other person in fear;

2. Causing bodily harm to that other person;

3. Making a fr audulent representation that the sexual act serves a

professional purpose; or

4. Inducing a belief by an artifice, pretense, or concealment that the person

is another person;

(b) Commits a sexual act upon another person when the person knows or

reasonably should know that the other person is asleep, unconscious, or

otherwise unaware that the sexual act is occurring; or

(c) Commits a sexual act upon another person when the other per son is incapable

of consenting to the sexual act due to:

1. Impairment by any drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance, and that

condition is known or reasonably should be known by the person; or

2. A mental disease or defect, or physical disability, a nd that condition is

known or reasonably should be known by the person.

(3) Any person subject to this code who commits or causes sexual contact upon or by

another person, if to do so would violate subsection (1) of this section had the

sexual contact been a sexual act, is guilty of aggravated sexual contact and shall be

punished as a court-martial may direct.

(4) Any person subject to this chapter who commits or causes sexual contact upon or by

another person, if to do so would violate subsection (2) of th is section had the

sexual contact been a sexual act, is guilty of abusive sexual contact and shall be

punished as a court-martial may direct.

(5) In a prosecution under this section, in proving that a person made a threat, it need

not be proven that the pe rson actually intended to carry out the threat or had the

ability to carry out the threat.

(6) An accused may raise any applicable defenses available under this code. Marriage is

not a defense for the conduct in issue in any prosecution under this section.

Collected 2026-09-05T20:48:54Z. Source file · JSON

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