Indecent assault - Pennsylvania Sexual Assault Laws

Indecent assault Crime & Punishment in Pennsylvania :

The Pennsylvania code § 3126 defines three degrees of the crime indecent assault, each with associated punishments. The degree of the crime depends on the specifics of the crime committed, with higher degrees of the charge generally receiving harsher punishments.

Severity	Indecent assault - Charge Description	Punishment
Felony of the third degree STATUTORY	If offender has indecent contact with victim, and victim is under 13, and Indecent assault was committed by touching offender’s sexual parts with sexual parts of victim. If offender has indecent contact with victim, and victim is under 13, and indecent assault was committed by touching victim’s sexual parts with sexual parts of offender. If offender has indecent contact with victim, and victim is under 13, and there has been a course of conduct of indecent assault by offender. If offender has indecent contact with victim, and victim is under 13, and it is a second or subsequent offense.	A maximum of 7 years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines
Misdemeanor of the first degree	If offender has indecent contact with victim, and victim is under 13. If offender has indecent contact with victim, and victim suffers from a mental disability that renders victim incapable of consent. If offender has indecent contact with victim, and offender has substantially impaired victim’s power to appraise or control victim’s conduct by administering or employing, without victim’s knowledge, drugs, intoxicants, or other means for the purpose of preventing resistance. If offender has indecent contact with victim, and victim is unconscious or offender knows that victim is unaware that indecent contact is occurring. If offender has indecent contact with victim, and offender does so by threat of forcible compulsion that would prevent resistance by a person of reasonable resolution. If offender has indecent contact with victim, and offender does so by forcible compulsion.	A maximum of 5 years in prison
Misdemeanor of the second degree STATUTORY	If offender has indecent contact with victim, and offender does so without victim’s consent. If offender has indecent contact with victim, and victim is under 16 and offender is at least four years older than victim and victim and offender are not married to each other.	A maximum of 2 years in prison

Pennsylvania law allows indecent assault to be enforced as a statutory charge. This means that this charge can be applied to cases in which the victim is younger than the Pennsylvania Age of Consent, even if the victim willingly engages in sexual relations with the defendant.

Indecent assault is a charge that is unique to Pennsylvania. Crimes that would be prosecuted as indecent assault in Pennsylvania will be prosecuted under a different statute depending on the state in which the crime takes place.

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