Penalties for civil rights offenses involving sexual misconduct
18 U.S.C. § 250
in effect(a) Offense.—It shall be unlawful for any person to, in the course of committing an offense under this chapter or under section 901 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3631), engage in, or cause another to engage in, sexual misconduct.
(b) Penalties.—Any person who violates subsection (a) shall be—(1) in the case of an offense involving aggravated sexual abuse, as defined in section 2241, or if the offense involved sexual abuse, as defined in section 2242, or if the offense involved an attempt to commit such aggravated sexual abuse or sexual abuse, fined under this title and imprisoned for any term of years or for life; (2) in the case of an offense involving abusive sexual contact of a child who has not attained the age of 16, of the type prohibited by section 2244(a)(5), fined under this title and imprisoned for any term of years or for life; (3) in the case of an offense involving a sexual act, as defined in section 2246, with another person without the other person’s permission, and it does not amount to sexual abuse or aggravated sexual abuse, be fined under this title and imprisoned for not more than 40 years; (4) in the case of an offense involving abusive sexual contact of the type prohibited by subsection (a)(1) or (b) of section 2244, but excluding abusive sexual contact through the clothing—(A) fined under this title and imprisoned for not more than 10 years; and (B) if the offense involves a child who has not attained the age of 12 years, imprisoned for not more than 30 years; (5) in the case of an offense involving abusive sexual contact of the type prohibited by section 2244(a)(2)—(A) fined under this title and imprisoned for not more than 3 years; and (B) if the offense involves a child under the age of 12, imprisoned for not more than 20 years; and (6) in the case of an offense involving abusive sexual contact through the clothing of the type prohibited by subsection (a)(3), (a)(4), or (b) of section 2244—(A) fined under this title and imprisoned for not more than 2 years; and (B) if the offense involves a child under the age of 12, imprisoned for not more than 10 years.
Source: OLRC USLMURL: https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/95/xml_usc18@119-95.zipFetched: 6/4/2026