Montana Rape and Sexual Assault Laws

The precise definition of sexual assault varies from state to state, but the crime generally involves subjecting another person to sexual touching that is unwanted and offensive. Sexual assault encompasses several crimes including rape (or non-consensual sexual intercourse). In Montana, rape is referred to as "sexual intercourse without consent." The tables below outline Montana's sexual assault and rape laws.

Code Section	Montana Code section 45-5-502: Sexual Assault
What's Prohibited?	Knowingly subjecting another person to any sexual contact without consent.
Consent	A victims' consent to sexual contact is ineffective if the victim is: Incarcerated or on probation, and the offender is an employee, contractor, or volunteer of the supervising authority Less than 14 years old and the offender is three of more years older than the victim, or Receiving services from a youth care facility and the offender is an employee, contractor, volunteer, or has supervisory authority over the victim at the facility
Penalties	First conviction: Punishable by a fine of up to $500, and/or imprisonment for up to six months. Second conviction: Punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, and/or imprisonment for up to one year. Third (or subsequent) conviction: Punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, and/or imprisonment for up to five years. If the victim is less than 16 years old and the offender is three or more years older than the victim, or if the offender inflicts bodily injury upon anyone in the course of committing the sexual assault, then the offense is punishable by imprisonment for four to 100 years and the offender may be fined up to $50,000.

Code Section

Montana Code section 45-5-503: Sexual Intercourse Without Consent (Rape)

What's Prohibited?

Knowingly having sexual intercourse without another person without their consent.

Penalties

Generally, a person convicted of sexual intercourse without consent is punished by life imprisonment, or by imprisonment for between four and 100 years and a fine of up to $50,000.

There are increased penalties under any of the following circumstances:

If the victim is less than 16 years old and the offender is four or more years older than the victim
If the offender inflicts injury upon anyone in the course of the act
If two or more people are convicted with the same victim in an incident where each offender was present at the location where the other offender's offense occurred during a time period in which each offender could have reasonably known of the other's offense, or
If the offender was previously convicted of sexual intercourse without consent and if the offender inflicted serious bodily injury upon a person in the course of committing each offense

Additional Resources

State laws change frequently. For case specific information regarding Montana's rape and sexual assault laws contact a local criminal defense lawyer.

If you are a rape or sexual assault survivor there is help available for you. During an emergency dial 911 and when you're safe contact the Montana Coalition Against Sexual Assault.