(1) A person is guilty of sodomy in the third degree when:
(a) Being twenty-one (21) years old or more, he or she engages in deviate sexual
intercourse with another person less than sixteen (16) years old;
(b) Being at least ten (10) years older than a person who is sixteen (16) or
seventeen (17) years old at the time of deviate sexual intercourse, he or she
engages in deviate sexual intercourse with the person;
(c) Being twenty-one (21) years old or more, he or she engages in deviate sexual
intercourse with another person less than eighteen (18) years old and for
whom he or she provides a foster family home as defined in KRS 600.020;
(d) Being a person in a position of authority or position of special trust, as defined
in KRS 532.045, he or she engages in deviate sexual intercourse with a minor
less than eighteen (18) years old with whom he or she comes into contact as a
result of that position;
(e) Being a jailer, or an employee, contractor, vendor, or volunteer of the
Department of Corrections, Department of Juvenile Justice, or a detention
facility as defined in KRS 520.010, or of an entity under contract with either
department or a detention facility for the custody, supervision, evaluation, or
treatment of offenders, he or she subjects a person who he or she knows is
incarcerated, supervised, evaluated, or treated by the Department of
Corrections, Department of Juvenile Justice, detention facility, or contracting
entity, to deviate sexual intercourse; or
(f) Being a peace officer, while serving in his or her official capacity, he or she
subjects a person who the officer:
1. Arrested, held in custody, or investigated for commission of a traffic or
criminal offense; or
2. Knew or should have known was under arrest, held in custody, or being
investigated for commission of a traffic or criminal offense;
to deviate sexual intercourse.
(2) Sodomy in the third degree is a Class D felony.
Effective: June 29, 2021
History: Amended 2021 Ky. Acts ch. 135, sec. 2, effective June 29, 2021. -- Amended
2018 Ky. Acts ch. 43, sec. 4, effective July 14, 2018; and ch. 109, sec. 4, effective
July 14, 2018. -- Amended 2012 Ky. Acts ch. 146, sec. 128, effective July 12, 2012;
and ch. 148, sec. 3, effective July 12, 2012. -- Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 26, sec. 2,
effective July 15, 2010. -- Amended 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 182, sec. 32, effective July
12, 2006. -- Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 259, sec. 8, effective July 15, 2002; and ch.
282, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2002. -- Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 283, sec. 13,
effective July 15, 1988. -- Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 89, effective January
1, 1975.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/14/2018). 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 43, sec. 5,
provides that 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 43 may be cited as "Jenna's Law." This statute was
amended in Section 4 of that Act.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
18
cases (
7 in the last 5 years), 1989–2025 · leading case:
Miller v. Commonwealth, 77 S.W.3d 566 (Ky. 2002).
Miller v. Commonwealth, 77 S.W.3d 566 (Ky. 2002).
· cites it 4× “080); and 34 counts of third-degree rape and 17 counts of third-degree sodomy occurring between January 28, 1999 and September 1, 1999 (Class D felonies, KRS 510.090). Perhaps, it was assumed that the jury would designate which counts of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy…”
David Alan Jenkins v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, 496 S.W.3d 435 (Ky. 2016).
· cites it 2× “080(a), sodomy in the second degree; and KRS 510.090(b), sodomy in the third degree) for perpetrators too young to be guilty of the felony offenses.”
Kays v. Commonwealth, 505 S.W.3d 260 (Ky. Ct. App. 2016).
“KRS 510.090(l)(b), a Class D felony. .To protect the child’s identity, she will be referred to by initials only and her mother will be referred to as "mother.”
Berry v. Commonwealth, 84 S.W.3d 82 (Ky. Ct. App. 2001).
“KRS 510.090(l)(b) states that a person is guilty of third-degree sodomy when, ''[b]eing twenty-one (21) years old or more, he engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another person less than sixteen (16) years old.”
Buckler v. Commonwealth, 515 S.W.3d 670 (Ky. Ct. App. 2016).
· cites it 3× “The indictment states, for each charge under KRS 510.090, "that the above named Defendant committed the offense of Sodomy, third degree while employed as Court security and transport officer[.”
Commonwealth v. Cox, 837 S.W.2d 898 (Ky. 1992).
“060(1)(b), sexual intercourse between a person being 21 or more years of age with a person less than 16 years of age), and one count of sodomy in the third degree (KRS 510.090(1)(b), deviate sexual intercourse by a person being 21 years of age or more with a person less than 16…”
Lozier v. Commonwealth, 32 S.W.3d 511 (Ky. Ct. App. 2000).
“KRS 510.090. The trial court accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Lozier to a total sentence of five years.”
Embry v. Commonwealth, 476 S.W.3d 264 (Ky. Ct. App. 2015).
“KRS 510.090, a Class D felony. . We make these statements based upon the trial court’s order and the briefs as the appellate record contains no recordings of any court proceedings.”
Declan J McAuley v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2025).
· cites it 4× “-6- of authority and position of special trust portions of KRS 510.090 and 510.110 are unconstitutionally vague and should not have been applied to him.”
C.S., a Child Under Eighteen v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2021).
· cites it 3× “] The District Court, noting that the only potentially applicable section of KRS §510.090 as it was in effect at the relevant time was that involving a victim who is incapable to consent due to their status as an individual with an intellectual disability, granted a defense…”
Kentucky Bar Ass'n v. Wessell, 766 S.W.2d 628 (Ky. 1989).
“On or about October 15,1984, respondent was convicted in the Fayette Circuit Court of violating KRS 510.090, sodomy in the third degree, a Class D felony, and of two counts of violating KRS 530.”
Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Wendy Fillhardt (Ky. Ct. App. 2022).
· cites it 2× “In Buckler, a grand jury indicted Buckler, a Carter County deputy sheriff, on two counts of sodomy in the third degree, pursuant to KRS 510.090(1)(e), for forcing two female prisoners to perform oral sex on him.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.090(1)(a) — 1 case
C.S., a Child Under Eighteen v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2021).
“] The District Court, noting that the only potentially applicable section of KRS §510.090 as it was in effect at the relevant time was that involving a victim who is incapable to consent due to their status as an individual with an intellectual disability, granted a defense…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.090(1)(b) — 1 case
Commonwealth v. Cox, 837 S.W.2d 898 (Ky. 1992).
“060(1)(b), sexual intercourse between a person being 21 or more years of age with a person less than 16 years of age), and one count of sodomy in the third degree (KRS 510.090(1)(b), deviate sexual intercourse by a person being 21 years of age or more with a person less than 16…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.090(1)(d) — 1 case
Declan J McAuley v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2025).
“-6- of authority and position of special trust portions of KRS 510.090 and 510.110 are unconstitutionally vague and should not have been applied to him.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.090(1)(e) — 3 cases
Buckler v. Commonwealth, 515 S.W.3d 670 (Ky. Ct. App. 2016).
“The indictment states, for each charge under KRS 510.090, "that the above named Defendant committed the offense of Sodomy, third degree while employed as Court security and transport officer[.”
Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Wendy Fillhardt (Ky. Ct. App. 2022).
“In Buckler, a grand jury indicted Buckler, a Carter County deputy sheriff, on two counts of sodomy in the third degree, pursuant to KRS 510.090(1)(e), for forcing two female prisoners to perform oral sex on him.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.090(b) — 1 case
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.090(l)(b) — 2 cases
Kays v. Commonwealth, 505 S.W.3d 260 (Ky. Ct. App. 2016).
“KRS 510.090(l)(b), a Class D felony. .To protect the child’s identity, she will be referred to by initials only and her mother will be referred to as "mother.”
Berry v. Commonwealth, 84 S.W.3d 82 (Ky. Ct. App. 2001).
“KRS 510.090(l)(b) states that a person is guilty of third-degree sodomy when, ''[b]eing twenty-one (21) years old or more, he engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another person less than sixteen (16) years old.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.