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La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.1 (2026)

Sexual battery

✓ current as of May 2026
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§43.1. Sexual battery

           A. Sexual battery is the intentional touching of the anus or genitals of the victim by the offender using any instrumentality or any part of the body of the offender, directly or through clothing, or the touching of the anus or genitals of the offender by the victim using any instrumentality or any part of the body of the victim, directly or through clothing, when any of the following occur:

           (1) The offender acts without the consent of the victim.

           (2) The victim has not yet attained fifteen years of age and is at least three years younger than the offender.

           (3) The offender is seventeen years of age or older and any of the following exist:

           (a) The act is without consent of the victim, and the victim is prevented from resisting the act because either of the following conditions exist:

           (i) The victim has paraplegia, quadriplegia, or is otherwise physically incapable of preventing the act due to a physical disability.

           (ii) The victim is incapable, through unsoundness of mind, of understanding the nature of the act, and the offender knew or should have known of the victim's incapacity.

           (b) The act is without consent of the victim, and the victim is sixty-five years of age or older.

           B. Lack of knowledge of the victim's age shall not be a defense. However, normal medical treatment or normal sanitary care shall not be construed as an offense under the provisions of this Section.

           C. (1) Whoever commits the crime of sexual battery shall be punished by imprisonment, with or without hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, for not more than ten years.

           (2) Whoever commits the crime of sexual battery on a victim under the age of thirteen years when the offender is seventeen years of age or older, shall be punished by imprisonment at hard labor for not less than twenty-five years nor more than ninety-nine years. At least twenty-five years of the sentence imposed shall be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

           (3) Whoever commits the crime of sexual battery by violating the provisions of Paragraph (A)(3) of this Section shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than twenty-five years nor more than ninety-nine years. At least twenty-five years of the sentence imposed shall be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

           (4) Upon completion of the term of imprisonment imposed in accordance with Paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Subsection, the offender shall be monitored by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections through the use of electronic monitoring equipment for the remainder of his natural life.

           (5) Unless it is determined by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, pursuant to rules adopted in accordance with the provisions of this Subsection, that a sexual offender is unable to pay all or any portion of such costs, each sexual offender to be electronically monitored shall pay the cost of such monitoring.

           (6) The costs attributable to the electronic monitoring of an offender who has been determined unable to pay shall be borne by the department if, and only to the degree that, sufficient funds are made available for such purpose whether by appropriation of state funds or from any other source.

           (7) The Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall develop, adopt, and promulgate rules in the manner provided in the Administrative Procedure Act that provide for the payment of such costs. Such rules shall contain specific guidelines which shall be used to determine the ability of the offender to pay the required costs and shall establish the reasonable costs to be charged. Such rules may provide for a sliding scale of payment so that an offender who is able to pay a portion, but not all, of such costs may be required to pay such portion.

           Acts 1978, No. 239, §1. Amended by Acts 1981, No. 624, §1, eff. July 20, 1981; Acts 1984, No. 924, §1; Acts 1991, No. 654, §1; Acts 1995, No. 946, §2; Acts 2003, No. 232, §1; Acts 2006, No. 103, §1; Acts 2008, No. 33, §1, eff. August 15, 2008; Acts 2011, No. 67, §1, eff. August 15, 2011; Acts 2015, No. 256, §1, eff. August 1, 2015.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 506 cases (87 in the last 5 years), 1976–2026 · leading case: State v. Clifton, 248 So. 3d 691 (La. Ct. App. 2018).
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State v. Clifton, 248 So. 3d 691 (La. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 12× “R.S. 14:43.1 and his subsequent adjudication and sentence as a multiple offender.”
State v. Lilly, 111 So. 3d 45 (La. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 12× “La.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 14:43.1(0(2). Thus, the trial court’s sentence of thirty-five years imprisonment at hard labor, without parole, falls within the statutory guidelines.”
State v. Schenck, 513 So. 2d 1159 (La. 1987). · cites it 11× “Michael Schenck was convicted after a judge trial for the crime of sexual battery in violation of La.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 14:43.1 (West 1986), a felony with an authorized statutory penalty of ten years imprisonment at hard labor.”
State v. Luckey, 212 So. 3d 1220 (La. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 7× “R.S. 14:43.1. The district court granted defendant’s motion for appeal, and defendant’s appeal followed.”
State v. Lanclos, 419 So. 2d 475 (La. 1982). · cites it 2× “R.S. 14:43.1. The trial judge accepted the guilty plea after determining that it was made voluntarily and with a full understanding of the nature of the charge and the consequences of the plea.”
State v. Wilturner, 858 So. 2d 743 (La. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 9× “R.S. 14:43.1, against a victim who was not yet fifteen years of age, who was not the defendant's spouse, and who was more than three years younger than the defendant (at the time of the offense, the defendant was thirty-six years old, and the victim was twelve).”
State v. James, 32 So. 3d 993 (La. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 4× “R.S. 14:43.1. [1] He entered a not guilty plea and waived motions.”
State v. Johnson, 109 So. 3d 994 (La. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 10× “R.S. 14:43.1, and pled not guilty at his arraignment.”
State v. Galindo, 968 So. 2d 1102 (La. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 5× “R.S. 14:43.1 relative to sexual battery. The defendant entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment on January 19, 2005.”
State v. Gonzalez, 173 So. 3d 1227 (La. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 4× “R.S. 14:43.1. He pled not guilty and, after waiving his right to a jury trial, proceeded to a bench trial on October 15, 2013.”
State v. Gaal, 800 So. 2d 938 (La. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 3× “On June 29, 1999, the defendant, Dennis Gaal, was charged in a two-count bill of information with one count of sexual battery upon a juvenile, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:43.1, and one count of aggravated oral sexual battery upon a juvenile, in violation of LSA-R.”
State v. Ordonez, 215 So. 3d 473 (La. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 3× “R.S. 14:43.1. The State, unable to locate the victim, dismissed the prosecution on February 9, 2009.”
Show all 506 citing cases →
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.1(0): 1 case
State v. Walton, 872 So. 2d 1221 (La. Ct. App. 2004).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.1(A): 25 cases
State v. Perkins, 83 So. 3d 250 (La. Ct. App. 2011).
State v. Peloquin, 888 So. 2d 393 (La. Ct. App. 2004).
State v. Simon, 62 So. 3d 318 (La. Ct. App. 2011).
State v. Mutz, 896 So. 2d 1129 (La. Ct. App. 2005).
State v. Duplantis, 127 So. 3d 143 (La. Ct. App. 2013).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.1(A)(1): 19 cases
State v. Lilly, 111 So. 3d 45 (La. Ct. App. 2012). “La.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 14:43.1(0(2). Thus, the trial court’s sentence of thirty-five years imprisonment at hard labor, without parole, falls within the statutory guidelines.”
State v. Gonzalez, 173 So. 3d 1227 (La. Ct. App. 2015). “R.S. 14:43.1. He pled not guilty and, after waiving his right to a jury trial, proceeded to a bench trial on October 15, 2013.”
State v. Johnson, 109 So. 3d 994 (La. Ct. App. 2013). “R.S. 14:43.1, and pled not guilty at his arraignment.”
State v. Duplantis, 127 So. 3d 143 (La. Ct. App. 2013).
State v. Davis, 265 So. 3d 1194 (La. Ct. App. 2019).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.1(A)(2): 11 cases
State v. Duplantis, 127 So. 3d 143 (La. Ct. App. 2013).
United States v. Oscar Vigil, 774 F.3d 331 (5th Cir. 2014).
State v. Carmouche, 145 So. 3d 1101 (La. Ct. App. 2014).
State of Louisiana v. Jonathan Daniel Wagar, 357 So. 3d 984 (La. Ct. App. 2023).
State of Louisiana v. Rustin Randall Middleton, 386 So. 3d 1283 (La. Ct. App. 2024).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.1(A)(2)(C)(2): 1 case
State of Louisiana Versus Donald Warden (La. Ct. App. 2025).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.1(B): 2 cases
State of Louisiana v. William J. Graham, 180 So. 3d 271 (La. 2015).
State of Louisiana v. Hugh Gilliam, 336 So. 3d 513 (La. Ct. App. 2022).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.1(C): 25 cases
State v. Wilturner, 858 So. 2d 743 (La. Ct. App. 2003). “R.S. 14:43.1, against a victim who was not yet fifteen years of age, who was not the defendant's spouse, and who was more than three years younger than the defendant (at the time of the offense, the defendant was thirty-six years old, and the victim was twelve).”
State v. Galindo, 968 So. 2d 1102 (La. Ct. App. 2007). “R.S. 14:43.1 relative to sexual battery. The defendant entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment on January 19, 2005.”
State v. Greer, 572 So. 2d 1166 (La. Ct. App. 1990).
State v. Gonzalez, 173 So. 3d 1227 (La. Ct. App. 2015). “R.S. 14:43.1. He pled not guilty and, after waiving his right to a jury trial, proceeded to a bench trial on October 15, 2013.”
State v. Preston, 103 So. 3d 525 (La. Ct. App. 2012).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.1(C)(1): 16 cases
State v. Barbain, 179 So. 3d 770 (La. Ct. App. 2015).
State v. Fallon, 189 So. 3d 605 (La. Ct. App. 2016).
State v. Davis, 947 So. 2d 201 (La. Ct. App. 2006).
State v. Lobo, 106 So. 3d 1187 (La. Ct. App. 2012).
State of Louisiana v. Jonathan Daniel Wagar, 357 So. 3d 984 (La. Ct. App. 2023).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.1(C)(2): 41 cases
State v. Clifton, 248 So. 3d 691 (La. Ct. App. 2018). “R.S. 14:43.1 and his subsequent adjudication and sentence as a multiple offender.”
State v. Flowers, 204 So. 3d 271 (La. Ct. App. 2016).
State v. Aguliar-Benitez, 260 So. 3d 1247 (La. Ct. App. 2018).
State v. Johnson, 109 So. 3d 994 (La. Ct. App. 2013). “R.S. 14:43.1, and pled not guilty at his arraignment.”
State v. Brenckle, 170 So. 3d 1141 (La. Ct. App. 2015).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.1(E): 1 case
State v. Simpkins, 12 So. 3d 1021 (La. Ct. App. 2009).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.1(c)(1): 1 case
Thomas v. Gryder (M.D. La. 2019).
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