Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03 (2026)

Sexual battery

✓ current as of May 2026
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(A) No person shall engage in sexual activity with another; cause another to engage in sexual activity with the offender; or cause two or more other persons to engage in sexual activity when any of the following apply:

(1) The offender knowingly coerces the other person, or one of the other persons, to submit by any means that would prevent resistance by a person of ordinary resolution.

(2) The offender knows that the other person's, or one of the other persons', ability to appraise the nature of or control the other person's own conduct is substantially impaired.

(3) The offender knows that the other person, or one of the other persons, submits because the other person is unaware that the act is being committed.

(4) The offender knows that the other person, or one of the other persons, submits because the other person mistakenly identifies the offender as the other person's spouse.

(5) The offender is the other person's, or one of the other persons', natural or adoptive parent, or a stepparent, or guardian, custodian, or person in loco parentis of the other person.

(6) The other person, or one of the other persons, is in custody of law or a patient in a hospital or other institution, and the offender has supervisory or disciplinary authority over the other person.

(7) The offender is a teacher, administrator, coach, or other person in authority employed by or serving in a school for which the director of education and workforce prescribes minimum standards pursuant to division (D) of section 3301.07 of the Revised Code, the other person, or one of the other persons, is enrolled in or attends that school, and the offender is not enrolled in and does not attend that school.

(8) The other person, or one of the other persons, is a minor, the offender is a teacher, administrator, coach, or other person in authority employed by or serving in an institution of higher education, and the other person is enrolled in or attends that institution.

(9) The other person, or one of the other persons, is a minor, and the offender is the other person's athletic or other type of coach, is the other person's instructor, is the leader of a scouting troop of which the other person is a member, or is a person with temporary or occasional disciplinary control over the other person.

(10) The offender is a mental health professional, the other person, or one of the other persons, is a mental health client or patient of the offender, and the offender induces the other person to submit by falsely representing to the other person that the sexual activity is necessary for mental health treatment purposes.

(11) The offender is a licensed medical professional, the other person, or one of the other persons, is a patient of the offender, and the sexual activity occurs in the course of medical treatment.

(12) The other person, or one of the other persons, is confined in a detention facility, and the offender is an employee of that detention facility.

(13) The other person, or one of the other persons, is a minor, the offender is a cleric, and the other person is a member of, or attends, the church or congregation served by the cleric.

(14) The other person, or one of the other persons, is a minor, the offender is a peace officer, and the offender is more than two years older than the other person.

(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of sexual battery.

(1) If the sexual activity involved is sexual conduct, except as otherwise provided in this division, sexual battery is a felony of the third degree. If the other person, or one of the other persons, is thirteen years of age or over and less than eighteen years of age, sexual battery is a felony of the second degree, and the court shall impose upon the offender a mandatory prison term equal to one of the definite prison terms prescribed in division (A)(2)(b) of section 2929.14 of the Revised Code for a felony of the second degree, except that if the violation is committed on or after March 22, 2019, the court shall impose as the minimum prison term for the offense a mandatory prison term that is one of the minimum terms prescribed in division (A)(2)(a) of that section for a felony of the second degree.

(2) If the sexual activity involved is sexual contact, except as otherwise provided in this division, sexual battery is a felony of the fifth degree. If the other person, or one of the other persons, is less than eighteen years of age, sexual battery is a felony of the fourth degree.

(C) As used in this section:

(1) "Cleric" has the same meaning as in section 2317.02 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Detention facility" has the same meaning as in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Institution of higher education" means a state institution of higher education defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, a private nonprofit college or university located in this state that possesses a certificate of authorization issued by the chancellor of higher education pursuant to Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code, or a school certified under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code.

(4) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.

(5) "Medical treatment" means in-person medical services provided by a licensed medical professional under the legal authority conferred by a license or certificate, including in-person examination, consultation, health care, treatment, procedure, surgery, or other in-person procedures.

The Legislative Service Commission presents the text of this section as a composite of the section as amended by multiple acts of the General Assembly. This presentation recognizes the principle stated in R.C. 1.52(B) that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation.

Last updated January 22, 2025 at 12:03 PM

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 815 cases (278 in the last 5 years), 1970–2026 · leading case: State v. Mole (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5124 (Ohio 2016).
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State v. Mole (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5124 (Ohio 2016). · cites it 146× “” {¶ 2} R.C. 2907.03 is generally a valid scheme insofar as it imposes strict liability for sexual conduct between various classes of offenders who exploit their victims through established authoritarian relationships.”
State v. Lowe, 861 N.E.2d 512 (Ohio 2007). · cites it 24× “{¶ 31} The majority reads R.C. 2907.03 as making certain private, consensual sexual relations between two adults illegal.”
State v. Reyes-Rosales, 2016 Ohio 3338 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 21× “15CA1010 3 {¶6} The Adams County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Reyes- Rosales with two counts of sexual battery, one in violation of R.C. 2907.03(A)(5) and one in violation of R.”
United States v. Wynn, 579 F.3d 567 (6th Cir. 2009). · cites it 28× “2d 490 (2008), the district court erred in concluding that Wynn's guilty plea to "sexual battery" under Ohio Rev.Code § 2907.03 was a "crime of violence" for purposes of determining that Wynn was a career offender.”
State v. Russell, 2020 Ohio 3243 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 16× “We stated the relationship between the offender and victim had been “accounted for by the legislature when it established most of these offenses [R.C. 2907.03] as felonies of the third degree.”
State v. Bentz, 2017 Ohio 5483 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 20× “The offense of sexual battery under R.C. 2907.03 provides, in relevant part: "No person shall engage in sexual conduct with another, not the spouse of the offender, when * * * [t]he offender knows that the other person's *384 ability to appraise the nature of or control the…”
State v. Colon, 2017 Ohio 8478 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 18× “{¶ 19} Further, in the 1974 Committee Comment to R.C. 2907.03, the Legislature explained: This section forbids sexual conduct with a person other than the offender's spouse in a variety of situations where the offender takes unconscionable advantage of the victim.”
State v. Straley (Slip Opinion), 2019 Ohio 5206 (Ohio 2019). · cites it 8× “The counts to which he agreed to plea included 3 counts of second-degree-felony sexual battery under R.C. 2907.03(A)(5) (the victim is under 13 years old at the time of the offenses).”
State v. Franklin, 2019 Ohio 1513 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 19× “R.C. 2907.03 was enacted with the purpose to “forbid sexual conduct with a person other than the offender’s spouse in a variety of situations where the offender takes unconscionable advantage of the victim[,]” including “sexual conduct when the victim’s judgment is obviously…”
Privett v. Sec'y, Dep't of Homeland Sec., 865 F.3d 375 (6th Cir. 2017). · cites it 10× “On November 17, 2004, Joseph Privett pleaded guilty to and was convicted of two counts of sexual battery in violation of Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(5). That law prohibits “sexual conduct with another, not the spouse of the offender, when .”
State v. Polizzi, 2019 Ohio 2505 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 10× “{¶7} Regarding the six counts of sexual battery, in violation of R.C. 2907.03(A)(7), each indictment alleged that appellant engaged in sexual conduct with another, not the spouse of the offender, when the offender was a teacher, administrator, coach, or other person in authority…”
State v. Piatt, 2020 Ohio 1177 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 7× “{¶5} As a result of the foregoing incident, a grand jury indicted Piatt on one count of sexual battery in violation of R.C. 2907.03(A)(1). The matter proceeded to trial, and a jury found him guilty.”
Show all 815 citing cases →
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(02) — 1 case
State v. Howell, 2020 Ohio 174 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(5) — 1 case
State v. George, 2024 Ohio 471 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(7) — 1 case
State v. Fisher, 2017 Ohio 7260 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(8) — 1 case
Harris v. Black (N.D. Ohio 2025).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A) — 21 cases
State v. Mole (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5124 (Ohio 2016). “” {¶ 2} R.C. 2907.03 is generally a valid scheme insofar as it imposes strict liability for sexual conduct between various classes of offenders who exploit their victims through established authoritarian relationships.”
United States v. Wynn, 579 F.3d 567 (6th Cir. 2009). “2d 490 (2008), the district court erred in concluding that Wynn's guilty plea to "sexual battery" under Ohio Rev.Code § 2907.03 was a "crime of violence" for purposes of determining that Wynn was a career offender.”
State v. Lowe, 861 N.E.2d 512 (Ohio 2007). “{¶ 31} The majority reads R.C. 2907.03 as making certain private, consensual sexual relations between two adults illegal.”
United States v. Wesley Hargrove, 416 F.3d 486 (6th Cir. 2005).
State v. Colon, 2017 Ohio 8478 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “{¶ 19} Further, in the 1974 Committee Comment to R.C. 2907.03, the Legislature explained: This section forbids sexual conduct with a person other than the offender's spouse in a variety of situations where the offender takes unconscionable advantage of the victim.”
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(1) — 125 cases
State v. Piatt, 2020 Ohio 1177 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020). “{¶5} As a result of the foregoing incident, a grand jury indicted Piatt on one count of sexual battery in violation of R.C. 2907.03(A)(1). The matter proceeded to trial, and a jury found him guilty.”
State v. Johnson, 858 N.E.2d 1144 (Ohio 2006).
State v. Ford, 2019 Ohio 2570 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).
State v. Wine (Slip Opinion), 2014 Ohio 3948 (Ohio 2014).
State v. Shank, 2013 Ohio 5368 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(1)(B) — 1 case
State v. Burnsworth, 2020 Ohio 5365 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(10) — 4 cases
State v. Mole (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5124 (Ohio 2016). “” {¶ 2} R.C. 2907.03 is generally a valid scheme insofar as it imposes strict liability for sexual conduct between various classes of offenders who exploit their victims through established authoritarian relationships.”
State v. Roy, 2014 Ohio 5186 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014).
State v. Mole, 2013 Ohio 3131 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013).
State v. Sohar, 2021 Ohio 3623 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(11) — 8 cases
State v. Mole (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5124 (Ohio 2016). “” {¶ 2} R.C. 2907.03 is generally a valid scheme insofar as it imposes strict liability for sexual conduct between various classes of offenders who exploit their victims through established authoritarian relationships.”
State v. Mapp, 2011 Ohio 4468 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011).
Watkins v. Dep't of Youth Servs., 39 N.E.3d 1207 (Ohio 2015).
State v. Kohler, 2024 Ohio 3302 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024).
Lohr v. Kiefer-Erb (S.D. Ohio 2022).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(12) — 8 cases
State v. Mole (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5124 (Ohio 2016). “” {¶ 2} R.C. 2907.03 is generally a valid scheme insofar as it imposes strict liability for sexual conduct between various classes of offenders who exploit their victims through established authoritarian relationships.”
Simpkins v. Grace Brethren Church of Delaware, Ohio (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 8118 (Ohio 2016).
State v. Wright, 2017 Ohio 8702 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017).
Simpkins v. Grace Brethren Church of Delaware, 2014 Ohio 3465 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014).
State v. Williams, 2015 Ohio 4576 (Ohio Ct. App. 2015).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(13) — 7 cases
State v. Mole (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5124 (Ohio 2016). “” {¶ 2} R.C. 2907.03 is generally a valid scheme insofar as it imposes strict liability for sexual conduct between various classes of offenders who exploit their victims through established authoritarian relationships.”
State v. Bentz, 2017 Ohio 5483 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “The offense of sexual battery under R.C. 2907.03 provides, in relevant part: "No person shall engage in sexual conduct with another, not the spouse of the offender, when * * * [t]he offender knows that the other person's *384 ability to appraise the nature of or control the…”
State v. Colon, 2017 Ohio 8478 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “{¶ 19} Further, in the 1974 Committee Comment to R.C. 2907.03, the Legislature explained: This section forbids sexual conduct with a person other than the offender's spouse in a variety of situations where the offender takes unconscionable advantage of the victim.”
State v. Mole, 2013 Ohio 3131 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013).
State v. Jennings, 2017 Ohio 8224 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(2) — 130 cases
State v. Franklin, 2019 Ohio 1513 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). “R.C. 2907.03 was enacted with the purpose to “forbid sexual conduct with a person other than the offender’s spouse in a variety of situations where the offender takes unconscionable advantage of the victim[,]” including “sexual conduct when the victim’s judgment is obviously…”
State v. Colon, 2017 Ohio 8478 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “{¶ 19} Further, in the 1974 Committee Comment to R.C. 2907.03, the Legislature explained: This section forbids sexual conduct with a person other than the offender's spouse in a variety of situations where the offender takes unconscionable advantage of the victim.”
State v. Ritchey, 2016 Ohio 2878 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).
State v. Bentz, 2017 Ohio 5483 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “The offense of sexual battery under R.C. 2907.03 provides, in relevant part: "No person shall engage in sexual conduct with another, not the spouse of the offender, when * * * [t]he offender knows that the other person's *384 ability to appraise the nature of or control the…”
State v. Hansing, 2019 Ohio 739 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(2)(B) — 2 cases
State v. Robinson, 2012 Ohio 1686 (Ohio Ct. App. 2012).
State v. Yob, 2025 Ohio 4919 (Ohio Ct. App. 2025).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(3) — 48 cases
State v. Hines, 2018 Ohio 1780 (Ohio Ct. App. 2018).
State v. Bodyke, 2010 Ohio 2424 (Ohio 2010).
State v. Oswald, 2018 Ohio 245 (Ohio Ct. App. 2018).
State v. McCary, 2019 Ohio 4596 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).
State v. Torres, 2023 Ohio 1406 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(3)(B) — 1 case
State v. Maxwell, 2026 Ohio 1961 (Ohio Ct. App. 2026).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(4) — 4 cases
State v. Farnsworth, 2013 Ohio 1275 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013).
State v. Boden, 2013 Ohio 4260 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013).
State v. Henthorn, 2011 Ohio 5579 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011).
State v. Beeker, 2022 Ohio 1430 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(4)(a) — 1 case
State v. Carder, 2026 Ohio 1061 (Ohio Ct. App. 2026).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(5) — 335 cases
State v. Lowe, 861 N.E.2d 512 (Ohio 2007). “{¶ 31} The majority reads R.C. 2907.03 as making certain private, consensual sexual relations between two adults illegal.”
State v. Russell, 2020 Ohio 3243 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020). “We stated the relationship between the offender and victim had been “accounted for by the legislature when it established most of these offenses [R.C. 2907.03] as felonies of the third degree.”
State v. Mole (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5124 (Ohio 2016). “” {¶ 2} R.C. 2907.03 is generally a valid scheme insofar as it imposes strict liability for sexual conduct between various classes of offenders who exploit their victims through established authoritarian relationships.”
State v. Straley (Slip Opinion), 2019 Ohio 5206 (Ohio 2019). “The counts to which he agreed to plea included 3 counts of second-degree-felony sexual battery under R.C. 2907.03(A)(5) (the victim is under 13 years old at the time of the offenses).”
Privett v. Sec'y, Dep't of Homeland Sec., 865 F.3d 375 (6th Cir. 2017). “On November 17, 2004, Joseph Privett pleaded guilty to and was convicted of two counts of sexual battery in violation of Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(5). That law prohibits “sexual conduct with another, not the spouse of the offender, when .”
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(5)(B) — 3 cases
State v. Frazier, 2023 Ohio 4222 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
State v. Velazquez, 2018 Ohio 5068 (Ohio Ct. App. 2018).
State v. Yob, 2025 Ohio 4919 (Ohio Ct. App. 2025).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(5)(b) — 2 cases
State v. Fair, 2019 Ohio 2508 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).
State v. Vanderpool, 2020 Ohio 1327 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(6) — 16 cases
State v. Reyes-Rosales, 2016 Ohio 3338 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016). “15CA1010 3 {¶6} The Adams County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Reyes- Rosales with two counts of sexual battery, one in violation of R.C. 2907.03(A)(5) and one in violation of R.”
State v. Mole (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5124 (Ohio 2016). “” {¶ 2} R.C. 2907.03 is generally a valid scheme insofar as it imposes strict liability for sexual conduct between various classes of offenders who exploit their victims through established authoritarian relationships.”
State v. Maresh, 2014 Ohio 3410 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014).
State v. Perpignand, 2021 Ohio 4277 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021).
State v. Walker, 748 N.E.2d 79 (Ohio Ct. App. 2000).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(7) — 43 cases
State v. Polizzi, 2019 Ohio 2505 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). “{¶7} Regarding the six counts of sexual battery, in violation of R.C. 2907.03(A)(7), each indictment alleged that appellant engaged in sexual conduct with another, not the spouse of the offender, when the offender was a teacher, administrator, coach, or other person in authority…”
State v. Murphy, 2018 Ohio 3506 (Ohio Ct. App. 2018).
State v. Stevens, 2023 Ohio 4683 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
State v. Hites, 2012 Ohio 1892 (Ohio Ct. App. 2012).
State v. Shook, 2014 Ohio 3987 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(8) — 2 cases
State v. Mole, 2013 Ohio 3131 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013).
Doe v. New Philadelphia Pub. Schs. Bd. of Educ., 996 F. Supp. 741 (N.D. Ohio 1998).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(9) — 29 cases
State v. Smith, 2019 Ohio 5015 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).
State v. Martin, 2019 Ohio 2504 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).
State v. Stewart, 775 N.E.2d 563 (Ohio Ct. App. 2002).
State v. Stober, 2014 Ohio 5629 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014).
State v. Stober, 2014 Ohio 1568 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(AX1) — 1 case
State v. Skaggs, 4 Ohio App. Unrep. 394 (Ohio Ct. App. 1990).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(B) — 22 cases
State v. Straley (Slip Opinion), 2019 Ohio 5206 (Ohio 2019). “The counts to which he agreed to plea included 3 counts of second-degree-felony sexual battery under R.C. 2907.03(A)(5) (the victim is under 13 years old at the time of the offenses).”
State v. Walters, 2016 Ohio 5783 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).
Privett v. Sec'y, Dep't of Homeland Sec., 865 F.3d 375 (6th Cir. 2017). “On November 17, 2004, Joseph Privett pleaded guilty to and was convicted of two counts of sexual battery in violation of Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(5). That law prohibits “sexual conduct with another, not the spouse of the offender, when .”
State v. Parker, 2011 Ohio 1418 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011).
State v. Oswald, 2018 Ohio 245 (Ohio Ct. App. 2018).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(B)(1) — 3 cases
State v. Setty, 2014 Ohio 2340 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014).
State v. Louis, 2016 Ohio 7596 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).
State v. Juan, 2016 Ohio 5339 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(B)(3) — 1 case
State v. Rexroad, 2023 Ohio 356 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(C)(4) — 1 case
State v. Mole (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5124 (Ohio 2016). “” {¶ 2} R.C. 2907.03 is generally a valid scheme insofar as it imposes strict liability for sexual conduct between various classes of offenders who exploit their victims through established authoritarian relationships.”
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