A person generally commits the criminal offense of rape by using force, threats of force, coercion, or fraud to have non-consensual sexual intercourse with another person. In some states this criminal offense is called sexual assault. Rape is a felony offense with significant jail or prison time as potential punishment.

Laws vary from state to state and some state laws also include in the definition of rape sexual intercourse with a person who is intoxicated by drugs or alcohol, unconscious, or mentally disabled and unable to consent to the sexual intercourse. And some states have a broad definition of the lack of consent to sexual contact constituting rape and include sexual contact with public servants (police officers, etc.), members of the clergy, mental health service providers, and employees of assisted living centers or nursing homes as lacking consent under some circumstances.

In some states it is rape or sexual assault for a health care services provider performing an assisted reproduction procedure to use human reproductive material from a donor other than the patient’s intended donor.

Rape or sexual assault laws are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In North Carolina, rape is defined under the North Carolina General Statutes, specifically in Chapter 14, Article 7B. The law characterizes rape as a Class B1 or Class C felony, depending on the circumstances and the age of the victim. A person commits the offense of rape by engaging in vaginal intercourse with another person by force and against their will, or with a person who is mentally incapacitated, mentally disabled, or physically helpless, and thus unable to consent. North Carolina law also recognizes statutory rape, which involves sexual intercourse with a minor under the age of consent, which is 16 years old in North Carolina. The state's statutes further include sexual offense provisions that cover a range of non-consensual sexual acts beyond vaginal intercourse. The punishment for rape in North Carolina is severe and can include significant prison time. Additionally, North Carolina law does not specifically address the issue of a healthcare provider committing sexual assault during an assisted reproduction procedure by using the wrong donor material. However, such an act could potentially be prosecuted under existing sexual assault or fraud statutes.