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 Texas, sexual assault is defined under the Texas Penal Code Section 22.011. The law characterizes sexual assault as intentionally or knowingly causing the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of another person by any means, without that person's consent. It also includes the penetration of the mouth of another person by the sexual organ of the actor, without consent, or causing another person's sexual organ to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another, including the actor, without consent. Consent is not considered valid if it is obtained through force, threat, or fraud, or if the victim is considered legally incapable of giving consent due to age or mental capacity. In Texas, there is no separate offense called 'sexual battery' or 'forcible touching'; such acts would typically fall under the broader category of sexual assault or other related offenses such as indecent assault, which covers nonconsensual touching of another person's intimate parts for the purpose of sexual gratification.