U.S. Code » Title 18 » Part PART I— CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 109A— SEXUAL ABUSE

18 U.S.C. § 2244

Abusive sexual contact

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(a)Sexual Conduct in Circumstances Where Sexual Acts Are Punished by This Chapter.—Whoever, in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or in a Federal prison, or in any prison, institution, or facility in which persons are held in custody by direction of or pursuant to a contract or agreement with the head of any Federal department or agency, knowingly engages in or causes sexual contact with or by another person, if so to do would violate—(1) subsection (a) or (b) of section 2241 of this title had the sexual contact been a sexual act, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than ten years, or both;(2)section 2242 of this title had the sexual contact been a sexual act, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than three years, or both;(3) subsection (a) of section 2243 of this title had the sexual contact been a sexual act, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than two years, or both;(4) subsection (b) of section 2243 of this title had the sexual contact been a sexual act, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than two years, or both;(5) subsection (c) of section 2241 of this title had the sexual contact been a sexual act, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for any term of years or for life; or(6) subsection (c) of section 2243 of this title had the sexual contact been a sexual act, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than two years, or both; 11 So in original. The semicolon probably should be a period.(b)In Other Circumstances.—Whoever, in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or in a Federal prison, or in any prison, institution, or facility in which persons are held in custody by direction of or pursuant to a contract or agreement with the head of any Federal department or agency, knowingly engages in sexual contact with another person without that other person’s permission shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than two years, or both.(c)Offenses Involving Young Children.—If the sexual contact that violates this section (other than subsection (a)(5)) is with an individual who has not attained the age of 12 years, the maximum term of imprisonment that may be imposed for the offense shall be twice that otherwise provided in this section.(Added Pub. L. 99–646, § 87(b), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3622, and Pub. L. 99–654, § 2, Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3661; amended Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, § 7058(a), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4403; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(K), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147; Pub. L. 105–314, title III, § 302, Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 2979; Pub. L. 109–162, title XI, § 1177(a)(5), (b)(2), Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3125; Pub. L. 109–248, title II, §§ 206(a)(2), 207(2), July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 613, 615; Pub. L. 110–161, div. E, title V, § 554, Dec. 26, 2007, 121 Stat. 2082; Pub. L. 117–103, div. W, title XII, § 1202(d), Mar. 15, 2022, 136 Stat. 925.)Editorial NotesCodification

Pub. L. 99–646 and Pub. L. 99–654 added identical sections 2244.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 117–103 added par. (6).

2007—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 110–161 substituted “the head of any Federal department or agency” for “the Attorney General”.

2006—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–248, § 207(2), inserted comma after “Attorney General” in introductory provisions.

Pub. L. 109–162, § 1177(a)(5), inserted “or in any prison, institution, or facility in which persons are held in custody by direction of or pursuant to a contract or agreement with the Attorney General” after “in a Federal prison,” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 109–248, § 206(a)(2)(A)(i), inserted “subsection (a) or (b) of” before “section 2241 of this title”.

Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 109–162, § 1177(b)(2), substituted “two years” for “six months”.

Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 109–248, § 206(a)(2)(A)(ii)–(iv), added par. (5).

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 109–248, § 207(2), inserted comma after “Attorney General”.

Pub. L. 109–162, § 1177(a)(5), (b)(2), inserted “or in any prison, institution, or facility in which persons are held in custody by direction of or pursuant to a contract or agreement with the Attorney General” after “in a Federal prison,” and substituted “two years” for “six months”.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–248, § 206(a)(2)(B), inserted “(other than subsection (a)(5))” after “violates this section”.

1998—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105–314 added subsec. (c).

1994—Subsecs. (a)(4), (b). Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000”.

1988—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–690 substituted “ten years” for “five years” in par. (1) and “two years” for “one year” in par. (3).

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 2022 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 117–103 not effective until Oct. 1 of the first fiscal year beginning after Mar. 15, 2022, see section 4(a) of div. W of Pub. L. 117–103, set out as an Effective Date note under section 6851 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 460 cases (95 in the last 5 years), 1984–2026 · leading case: United States v. Juan Price, 921 F.3d 777 (9th Cir. 2019).
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United States v. Juan Price, 921 F.3d 777 (9th Cir. 2019). · cites it 18× “PRICE Opinion by Judge Wardlaw; Concurrence by Judge Gilman SUMMARY *** Criminal Law The panel affirmed a conviction for knowingly engaging in sexual contact with another person without that other person’s permission on an international flight, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2244…”
United States v. Patrick Wandahsega, 924 F.3d 868 (6th Cir. 2019). · cites it 5× “*874 Patrick Roy Wandahsega was convicted by a jury of abusive sexual contact, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2244 (a)(5), after Wandahsega's then-six-year-old son, H.”
United States v. Bryan Granbois, 376 F.3d 993 (9th Cir. 2004). · cites it 12× “OPINION THOMPSON, Senior Circuit Judge: In this appeal we hold that a prior conviction for abusive sexual contact under 18 U.S.C. § 2244 (a)(3) constitutes a conviction of a “crime of violence” for purposes of the Career Offender Guideline, U.”
M.G. v. Albemarle Cnty. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 583 S.E.2d 761 (Va. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 8× “By order entered June 25, 2002, mother was convicted for abusive sexual contact in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2244 (a)(1) and (c) and contributing to the delinquency of a minor pursuant to 18 U.”
United States v. Tsosie, 639 F.3d 1213 (9th Cir. 2011). · cites it 10× “OPINION BERZON, Circuit Judge: Michael Tsosie entered into a plea agreement with the government and pleaded guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2244 (a)(1). Pursuant to the plea agreement, the District Court sentenced Tsosie to eighteen…”
United States v. Castillo, 140 F.3d 874 (10th Cir. 1998). · cites it 6× “§ 2242 and one count of sexual abuse of a -2- minor under 18 U.S.C. § 2244 . At trial, the district court allowed N.”
State v. Moir, 794 S.E.2d 685 (N.C. 2016). · cites it 12× “§ 2246 (3), and sexual contact is classified as “abusive sexual contact” under 18 U.S.C. § 2244 . 12. Abusive sexual contact is considered to be a Tier II offense under the provisions of 42 U.”
United States v. Johnny Escalante, 933 F.3d 395 (5th Cir. 2019). · cites it 5× “The Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) concluded that Utah's crime of unlawful sexual activity with a minor was comparable to abusive sexual contact as described in 18 U.S.C. § 2244 , 4 and therefore recommended *398 that Escalante be categorized as a tier II offender with a Guidelines…”
United States v. Richard Walker, 931 F.3d 576 (7th Cir. 2019). · cites it 4× “Because SORNA instructs us to compare Walker's offense to the "offenses" described in corresponding sections of the Federal Criminal Code ( 18 U.S.C. § 2244 and offenses listed therein), we employ the "categorical approach.”
United States v. Shafer, 573 F.3d 267 (6th Cir. 2009). · cites it 6× “The defendant was charged with Abusive Sexual Contact under 18 U.S.C. § 2244 (a)(1), which criminalizes, among other things, causing an individual to engage in "sexual contact" as defined by § 2246(3) under certain circumstances.”
United States v. Jennings, 496 F.3d 344 (4th Cir. 2007). · cites it 6× “(Dulles International Airport in Virginia), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2244 (a)(3) (criminalizing “abusive sexual contact” with a minor).”
United States v. Richard Kraemer, 933 F.3d 675 (7th Cir. 2019). · cites it 5× “02(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2244 (c), which prohibits sexual contact with a person under the age of twelve, because the state statute reached more victims than the federal offense.”
Show all 460 citing cases →
— 18 U.S.C. § 2244(a)(1) — 1 case
United States v. Fifer, 188 F. Supp. 3d 810 (C.D. Ill. 2016).
— 18 U.S.C. § 2244(a)(3) — 1 case
United States v. Gregory Krishen (6th Cir. 2021).
— 18 U.S.C. § 2244(a)(4) — 1 case
Smith v. United States (6th Cir. 2003).
— 18 U.S.C. § 2244(a)(5) — 1 case
United States v. Roark, 140 F.4th 1280 (10th Cir. 2025).
— 18 U.S.C. § 2244(b) — 1 case
United States v. Colfax (9th Cir. 2026).
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