Is &quot;dry-humping&quot; considered rape?
<p>Can fully-clothed dry-humping someone without consent count as rape?</p>

<p>And if not, what sort of offense is it? If found guilty, what would a typical punishment be in the US?</p>

<p>Does it matter whether they are under-aged?</p>

<p>Does it matter if the perpetrator is in a position of authority? (Say he's a high school teacher and the victim is a high-school student.)</p>

<p><strong>No</strong>.</p>

<p>In many states there is not such thing as rape. Which means that you can't be charged with rape. Which means that no matter what you do, including dry humping, it's not rape. In other words, you may be convicted of Criminal Sexual Assault in the first degree and honestly say that you have never been convicted of rape.</p>

<p>But if there is a rape offense on the books, dry-humping won't get you there. <strong>Rape requires intercourse or penetration of any body part, however slight</strong>.</p>

<p>Look at New York. I will use Rape in the third degree as it is the lowest felony class so is most likely to include dry humping.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong><a href="http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/PEN/THREE/H/130/130.25">N.Y. PEN. LAW § 130.25 : NY Code - Section 130.25: Rape in the third degree</strong></a><br>
  A person is guilty of rape in the third degree when:<br>
  1. He or she
  engages in sexual <em>intercourse</em> with another person who is incapable of
  consent by reason of some factor other than being less than seventeen
  years old;<br>
  2. Being twenty-one years old or more, he or she engages in
  sexual <em>intercourse</em> with another person less than seventeen years old;
  or<br>
  3. He or she engages in sexual <em>intercourse</em> with another person
  without such person's consent where such lack of consent is by reason
  of some factor other than incapacity to consent.<br>
  Rape in the third
  degree is a class E felony.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>You can look at <a href="http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/PEN/THREE/H/130/130.30">second</a> and <a href="http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/PEN/THREE/H/130/130.35">first</a> degree rape. They all require intercourse.</p>

<p>Staying in New York even the Criminal Sexual Acts don't cover dry-humping. These require <strong>oral sexual conduct or anal sexual conduct</strong>.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong><a href="http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/PEN/THREE/H/130/130.40">N.Y. PEN. LAW § 130.40 : NY Code - Section 130.40: Criminal sexual act in the third degree</a></strong><br>
  A person is guilty of criminal sexual
  act in the third degree when:<br>
  1. He or she engages in <em>oral sexual
  conduct or anal sexual conduct</em> with a person who is incapable of
  consent by reason of some factor other than being less than seventeen
  years old;<br>
  2. Being twenty-one years old or more, he or she engages in
  <em>oral sexual conduct or anal sexual conduct</em> with a person less than
  seventeen years old; or<br>
  3. He or she engages in <em>oral sexual conduct or
  anal sexual conduct</em> with another person without such person's consent
  where such lack of consent is by reason of some factor other than
  incapacity to consent.<br>
  Criminal sexual act in the third degree is a
  class E felony.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Maybe dry humping is Forcible touching.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong><a href="http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/PEN/THREE/H/130/130.52">N.Y. PEN. LAW § 130.52 : NY Code - Section 130.52: Forcible touching</a></strong><br>
  A person is guilty of forcible touching when such
  person intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose, forcibly touches
  the <em>sexual or other intimate parts</em> of another person for the purpose
  of degrading or abusing such person; or <em>for the purpose of gratifying</em>
  the actor's sexual desire.<br>
  For the purposes of this section, forcible
  touching includes squeezing, grabbing or pinching.<br>
  Forcible touching
  is a class A misdemeanor.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This one requires contact with <strong>intimate or sexual parts</strong>. So it depends on how the humping happens.</p>

<p>The age of the alleged victim also matters. For example, in Nevada, if everyone is an adult sexual assault requires penetration.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong><a href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-200.html#NRS200Sec366">NRS 200.366  Sexual assault: Definition; penalties.</a></strong>
  1.  A person who subjects another person to sexual <em>penetration</em>, or who forces another person to make a sexual <em>penetration</em> on himself or
  herself or another, or on a beast, against the will of the victim or
  under conditions in which the perpetrator knows or should know that
  the victim is mentally or physically incapable of resisting or
  understanding the nature of his or her conduct, is guilty of sexual
  assault.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>However, if the victim is a child under the age of 14 dry humping is probably a crime. <em>Edit to add: this is not called rape but can get you life with parole. Second offense is life without parole.</em></p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong><a href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-201.html#NRS201Sec230">NRS 201.230  Lewdness with child under 14 years; penalties</a></strong><br>
  1.  A person who willfully and lewdly commits any <strong>lewd or lascivious act</strong>, other than acts constituting the crime of sexual assault, upon or
  with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child under the age
  of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying
  the lust or passions or sexual desires of that person or of that
  child, is guilty of lewdness with a child.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Regardless of statutory language, there are other classifications of activity which might define something as rape. One of these is the FBI’s <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr">Uniform Crime Report</a> (UCR) Summary Reporting System (SRS). This definition was updated in 2012.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Forcible rape had been defined by the UCR SRS as the carnal
  knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.  That
  definition, unchanged since 1927, was outdated and narrow. It only
  included forcible male penile penetration of a female vagina.</p>
  
  <p>The new definition is:</p>
  
  <p><strong>The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any
  body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another
  person, without the consent of the victim.</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>The <a href="http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/iccelementsofcrimes.html">International Criminal Court</a> defines rape:  </p>

<blockquote>
  <ol>
  <li>The perpetrator invaded the body of a person by conduct resulting in
  penetration, however slight, of any part of the body of the victim or
  of the perpetrator with a sexual organ, or of the anal or genital
  opening of the victim with any object or any other part of the body.  </li>
  <li>The invasion was committed by force, or by threat of force or
  coercion, such as that caused by fear of violence, duress, detention,
  psychological oppression or abuse of power, against such person or
  another person, or by taking advantage of a coercive environment, or
  the invasion was committed against a person incapable of giving
  genuine consent.</li>
  </ol>
</blockquote>

<p>The <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/">World Health Organization</a> defines rape:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>...physically forced or otherwise coerced penetration of the vulva or
  anus with a penis, other body part or object</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I did exhaust the possibilities, but I can't find anything that suggests that dry humping is rape.</p>

<p>It could definitely be considered <a href="http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/sexual-assault-overview.html#sthash.F5hUPL51.dpuf">sexual assault</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Specific laws vary by state, but sexual assault generally refers to
  any crime in which the offender subjects the victim to sexual touching
  that is unwanted and offensive. These crimes can range from sexual
  groping or assault/battery, to attempted rape. All states prohibit
  sexual assault, but the exact definitions of the crimes that fall
  within the category of sexual assault differ from state to state. The
  laws share some basic elements, but the structures, wording and scope
  of sexual assault offenses vary considerably, so always check your
  local statutes for specific questions.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/rape.html">Rape</a> on the other hand generally requires some form of penetration to occur.  </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>To convict an offender for rape, some form of sexual penetration,
  however slight, must occur. Each instance of penetration can serve as
  a count of rape, as well.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>It does appear in some states that any form of sexual contact for someone under aged could be considered <a href="http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/rape.html#sthash.L31Me2nt.dpuf">Statutory Rape</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Statutory rape refers to sexual intercourse with a minor (someone
  below the "age of consent"). People below the age of consent cannot
  legally consent to having sex. This means that sex with them, by
  definition of the strict liability statute, violates the law.</p>
  
  <p>Statutory rape laws vary by state, with states setting the age of
  consent differently, as well as using different names to refer to this
  crime. Many states punish statutory rape under laws addressing sexual
  assault, rape, unlawful sexual intercourse or carnal knowledge of a
  child. In many states, statutory rape is a felony only if one of the
  participants (usually a male) is at least three years older than the
  other; otherwise, it is a misdemeanor. There are very few federal laws
  dealing with statutory rape.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In California, the conduct you describe is a misdemeanor called "sexual battery."  It is not rape.  However, if the perpetrator forcibly holds the victim in place while performing, that might amount to felony false imprisonment.  If the perpetrator forces the victim to move (e.g. into a room), then that would probably be charged as kidnaping (a felony).</p>

<p>Additional penalties, civil and criminal, would attach if the victim was a minor and the perpetrator was an adult.</p>

united-states rape sexual-offences