The criminal offense of sexual assault generally involves forced sexual intercourse, sodomy, or other sexual penetration of another person—against the person’s will and without the person’s consent.

Sexual assault laws vary from state to state, and in some states the traditional criminal offense of rape is defined as the criminal offense of sexual assault. In some states the touching, groping, or pinching of the body of another person without the person’s consent and for purposes of sexual gratification is defined as sexual assault—and in other states such nonconsensual sexual contact is defined as the criminal offense of sexual battery or forcible touching, for example.

Sexual assault and related criminal offenses are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In North Carolina, sexual assault is addressed under the state's criminal statutes, specifically in Chapter 14 of the North Carolina General Statutes. The state distinguishes between various degrees of sexual assault and related offenses. First-degree forcible rape, for instance, involves vaginal intercourse by force and without consent, and is punishable as a Class B1 felony. Second-degree forcible rape does not involve serious personal injury or the use of a weapon and is classified as a Class C felony. North Carolina also recognizes statutory rape, which is intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent, regardless of whether force or consent is involved. Additionally, sexual battery in North Carolina refers to the sexual touching of a victim against their will and for sexual arousal or gratification, or for the purpose of abusing, humiliating, harassing, or degrading the victim, and is considered a Class A1 misdemeanor. The state's laws are designed to protect individuals from nonconsensual sexual acts and provide severe penalties for those convicted of such crimes.