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Subtitle E—Military Justice and 
Legal Matters Generally 
SEC. 551. REFORM OF OFFENSES RELATING TO RAPE, SEX-
UAL ASSAULT, AND OTHER SEXUAL MIS-
CONDUCT UNDER THE UNIFORM CODE OF 
MILITARY JUSTICE. 
(a) RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT GENERALLY.—Sec-
tion 920 of title 10, United States Code (article 120 of the 
Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended as follows: 
(1) REVISED OFFENSE OF RAPE.—Subsection (a) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) RAPE.—Any person subject to this chapter who 
commits a sexual act upon another person by— 
‘‘(1) using unlawful force against that other per-
son; 
‘‘(2) using force causing or likely to cause death 
or grievous bodily harm to any person; 
‘‘(3) threatening or placing that other person in 
fear that any person will be subjected to death, griev-
ous bodily harm, or kidnapping; 
‘‘(4) first rendering that other person uncon-
scious; or 
‘‘(5) administering to that other person by force 
or threat of force, or without the knowledge or consent 
of that person, a drug, intoxicant, or other similar
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substance and thereby substantially impairing the 
ability of that other person to appraise or control con-
duct; 
is guilty of rape and shall be punished as a court-martial 
may direct.’’. 
(2) REPEAL OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO OF-
FENSES
REPLACED
BY
NEW
ARTICLE
120b.—Sub-
sections (b), (d), (f), (g), (i), (j), and (o) are repealed. 
(3) REVISED OFFENSE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.— 
Subsection (c) is redesignated as subsection (b) and is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—Any person subject to this 
chapter who— 
‘‘(1) commits a sexual act upon another person 
by— 
‘‘(A) threatening or placing that other per-
son in fear; 
‘‘(B) causing bodily harm to that other per-
son; 
‘‘(C) making a fraudulent representation 
that the sexual act serves a professional purpose; 
or 
‘‘(D) inducing a belief by any artifice, pre-
tense, or concealment that the person is another 
person;
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‘‘(2) commits a sexual act upon another person 
when the person knows or reasonably should know 
that the other person is asleep, unconscious, or other-
wise unaware that the sexual act is occurring; or 
‘‘(3) commits a sexual act upon another person 
when the other person is incapable of consenting to 
the sexual act due to— 
‘‘(A) impairment by any drug, intoxicant, 
or other similar substance, and that condition is 
known or reasonably should be known by the 
person; or 
‘‘(B) a mental disease or defect, or physical 
disability, and that condition is known or rea-
sonably should be known by the person; 
is guilty of sexual assault and shall be punished as a court- 
martial may direct.’’. 
(4) AGGRAVATED SEXUAL CONTACT.—Subsection 
(e) is redesignated as subsection (c) and is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘engages in’’ and inserting 
‘‘commits’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘with’’ and inserting 
‘‘upon’’. 
(5) ABUSIVE SEXUAL CONTACT.—Subsection (h) 
is redesignated as subsection (d) and is amended—
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(A) by striking ‘‘engages in’’ and inserting 
‘‘commits’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘with’’ and inserting 
‘‘upon’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘subsection (c) (aggravated 
sexual assault)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b) 
(sexual assault)’’. 
(6) REPEAL OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO OF-
FENSES
REPLACED
BY
NEW
ARTICLE
120c.—Sub-
sections (k), (l), (m), and (n) are repealed. 
(7) PROOF OF THREAT.—Subsection (p) is redes-
ignated as subsection (e) and is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘the accused made’’ and in-
serting ‘‘a person made’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘the accused actually’’ and 
inserting ‘‘the person actually’’; and 
(C) by inserting before the period at the end 
the following: ‘‘or had the ability to carry out the 
threat’’. 
(8) DEFENSES.—Subsection (q) is redesignated 
as subsection (f) and is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(f) DEFENSES.—An accused may raise any applica-
ble defenses available under this chapter or the Rules for 
Court-Martial. Marriage is not a defense for any conduct 
in issue in any prosecution under this section.’’.
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(9) PROVISIONS RELATING TO AFFIRMATIVE DE-
FENSES.—Subsections (r) and (s) are repealed. 
(10) DEFINITIONS.—Subsection (t) is redesig-
nated as subsection (g) and is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 
‘‘or anus or mouth’’ after ‘‘vulva’’; and 
(ii) in subparagraph (B)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘genital opening’’ 
and inserting ‘‘vulva or anus or 
mouth,’’; and 
(II) by striking ‘‘a hand or fin-
ger’’ and inserting ‘‘any part of the 
body’’; 
(B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(2) SEXUAL CONTACT.—The term ‘sexual con-
tact’ means— 
‘‘(A) touching, or causing another person to 
touch, either directly or through the clothing, the 
genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or 
buttocks of any person, with an intent to abuse, 
humiliate, or degrade any person; or 
‘‘(B) any touching, or causing another per-
son to touch, either directly or through the cloth-