(1) A person is guilty of sexual abuse in the second degree when:
(a) He or she is at least eighteen (18) years old but less than twenty-one (21) years
old and subjects another person who is less than sixteen (16) years old to
sexual contact;
(b) 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 is at least eighteen
(18) years old and 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 sexual contact; or
(c) 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 sexual contact.
(2) In any prosecution under subsection (1)(a) of this section, it is a defense that:
(a) The other person's lack of consent was due solely to incapacity to consent by
reason of being less than sixteen (16) years old; and
(b) The other person was at least fourteen (14) years old; and
(c) The actor was less than five (5) years older than the other person.
(3) Sexual abuse in the second degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
Effective: June 29, 2021
History: Amended 2021 Ky. Acts ch. 135, sec. 3, effective June 29, 2021. -- Amended
2018 Ky. Acts ch. 109, sec. 6, effective July 14, 2018. -- Amended 2012 Ky. Acts ch.
146, sec. 129, effective July 12, 2012. -- Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 26, sec. 3,
effective July 15, 2010. -- Amended 2008 Ky. Acts ch. 72, sec. 2, effective July 15,
2008. -- Amended 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 182, sec. 34, effective July 12, 2006. --
Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 259, sec. 9, effective July 15, 2002; and ch. 282, sec. 3,
effective July 15, 2002. -- Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 345, sec. 8, effective July 14,
2000. -- Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 283, sec. 14, effective July 15, 1988. --Created
1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 92, effective January 1, 1975.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/15/2008). The numbering of subsections in
this section has been altered by the Reviser of Statutes from the numbering in 2008
Ky. Acts ch. 72, sec. 2, under the authority of KRS 7.136.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
24
cases (
6 in the last 5 years), 1978–2026 · leading case:
Clark v. Commonwealth, 223 S.W.3d 90 (Ky. 2007).
Clark v. Commonwealth, 223 S.W.3d 90 (Ky. 2007).
· cites it 2× “110(1); KRS 510.120(1); Tungate v. Commonwealth, 901 S.”
Crawford v. Cuomo, 796 F.3d 252 (2d Cir. 2015).
“§ 21-5512 ; Ky. Rev.Stat. Ann. § 510.120; Me. Stat. Tit.”
Gibbs v. Commonwealth, 208 S.W.3d 848 (Ky. 2006).
· cites it 2× “050; KRS 510.120; KRS 510.060. [1] Although it is even further afield than my current concern, I would also note that the unwaivability of a hearing required by the Fourteenth Amendment does not mean that an erroneous waiver is not subject to harmless error.”
Reed v. Commonwealth, 738 S.W.2d 818 (Ky. 1987).
· cites it 2× “KRS 510.120. The Commonwealth argues lack of preservation and we *822 will address this contention prior to reaching the merits of this issue.”
Turner v. Commonwealth, 345 S.W.3d 844 (Ky. 2011).
· cites it 2× “See KRS 510.120 (second-degree); KRS 510.130 (third-degree).”
Rodriguez v. McClenning, 399 F. Supp. 2d 228 (S.D.N.Y. 2005).
“See Ky.Rev.Stat. Ann § 510.120 (Banks-Baldwin 2002); Mass.”
Quist v. Commonwealth, 338 S.W.3d 778 (Ky. Ct. App. 2010).
· cites it 3× “KRS 510.120 defines sexual abuse 2nd, as it existed at the time of the offense, in relevant part as follows: 8 (1) A person is guilty of sexual abuse [2nd] when: (b) He or she subjects another person who is less than fourteen (14) years old to sexual eontact[.”
Salsman v. Commonwealth, 565 S.W.2d 638 (Ky. Ct. App. 1978).
“KRS 510.120. A woman is “mentally defective” if she suffers from a mental disease or defect which renders her incapable of appraising the nature of her conduct.”
Young v. Commonwealth, 968 S.W.2d 670 (Ky. 1998).
“070(1)(b)2 and 1974 Commentary; KRS 510.120(1)(b)2 and 1974 Commentary. Thus, any sexual contact between Appellant and P.”
Tungate v. Commonwealth, 901 S.W.2d 41 (Ky. 1995).
“KRS 510.120. The lesser offense proscribes sexual contact with a person less than fourteen years old, while first-degree sexual abuse, a Class D felony, prohibits the same conduct with a person less than twelve years of age.”
Moffitt v. Commonwealth, 360 S.W.3d 247 (Ky. Ct. App. 2012).
“Sexual abuse, as set forth in KRS 510.120 and 510.130; 9. Unlawful transaction with a minor in the first degree, as set forth in KRS 530.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.120(1) — 1 case
Clark v. Commonwealth, 223 S.W.3d 90 (Ky. 2007).
“110(1); KRS 510.120(1); Tungate v. Commonwealth, 901 S.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.120(1)(a) — 2 cases
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.120(1)(b) — 2 cases
Young v. Commonwealth, 968 S.W.2d 670 (Ky. 1998).
“070(1)(b)2 and 1974 Commentary; KRS 510.120(1)(b)2 and 1974 Commentary. Thus, any sexual contact between Appellant and P.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.120(1c) — 1 case
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.120(2) — 1 case
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.120(l)(a) — 1 case
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 510.120(l)(e) — 1 case
Turner v. Commonwealth, 345 S.W.3d 844 (Ky. 2011).
“See KRS 510.120 (second-degree); KRS 510.130 (third-degree).”
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.