Sexual assault is a serious and flagrant violation of the University rules of conduct for faculty, staff and students and will not be tolerated. Procedures protecting the rights of sexual assault victims and those accused of sexual assault have been established, are readily available, and will be enforced rigorously. Definition A stranger or acquaintance commits sexual assault through forcible sodomy, forcible sexual penetration, however slight, of another person's mouth, anal or genital opening with any object. These acts must be committed without the victim's consent either by force, threat of force or violence, intimidation or through the use of the victim's mental or physical helplessness of which the accused was aware or should have been aware. These acts must be committed either by force, threat, intimidation or through the use of the victim's mental or physical helplessness of which the accused was aware or should have been aware.
Rape is a form of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse without the victim's consent.
It includes being coerced through force or threats of force, or having sexual intercourse with someone who is unconscious or incapable of giving consent. Comments and Statutory References Sexual assault is non-consensual acts involving psychological manipulation, physical force or coercion. It is an act of aggression and violence, and a crime punishable under the laws of the State of Texas by fines and incarceration up to 20 years of confinement. The UH definition of sexual assault captures the essence of the Texas criminal definition, found in Section 22.011, of the Texas Penal Code. The perpetrator can be a stranger, relative, acquaintance or a date.