Abusive Sexual Contact – 18 U.S.C. § 2244 Sentencing Guidelines

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group, a second-generation firm managed by Todd Spodek with over 40 years of combined experience. When federal prosecutors charge abusive sexual contact under 18 U.S.C. § 2244, they’re alleging unwanted sexual touching—groping, fondling, touching intimate parts—without penetration or oral-genital contact that would elevate charges to sexual abuse under §§ 2241-2243. Maximum sentences range from **2 years to life** depending on victim age, use of force, and the defendant’s intent. This is federal law’s sexual assault misdemeanor-to-moderate felony range, covering conduct from brief inappropriate touching to sustained groping causing psychological trauma.

Sexual Contact vs. Sexual Acts

Federal law distinguishes between “sexual acts” (§§ 2241-2243) and “sexual contact” (§ 2244). Understanding that line determines whether someone faces 2 years or life imprisonment:

**Sexual acts** under 18 U.S.C. § 2246(2) include: contact between mouth and genitals/anus, contact between mouth and any body part with intent to abuse/humiliate/arouse, or penetration however slight of genital or anal opening. Any conduct involving penetration or oral-genital contact qualifies as a sexual act, triggering the more serious statutes (§§ 2241-2243).

**Sexual contact** under 18 U.S.C. § 2246(3) means: intentional touching, either directly or through clothing, of genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse sexual desire. This covers groping, fondling, rubbing against victims, and unwanted touching of intimate areas—conduct that’s criminal but less severe than penetrative acts.

Practical examples showing the boundary:

• *Grabbing breasts through clothing* – Sexual contact under § 2244, not sexual act
• *Reaching inside clothing to touch genitals* – Still sexual contact (no penetration), though more serious than over-clothing touching
• *Rubbing genitals against victim’s body* – Sexual contact, unless penetration occurred
• *Forced kissing* – Generally not sexual contact unless coupled with groping or touching intimate areas
• *Touching victim’s thigh while moving hand toward genitals* – Sexual contact if inner thigh touched with sexual intent

Five Categories of Abusive Sexual Contact

Section 2244 creates different offense levels based on victim characteristics and defendant conduct:

§ 2244(a)(1): Contact Without Permission (Adult Victims)

Sexual contact with adults through force, threats, or rendering victims unconscious. Maximum: **2 years**. This is the lowest-level § 2244 violation, covering unwanted groping, inappropriate touching at bars or public transit, workplace sexual harassment involving physical contact. Prosecutors must prove defendants acted without permission—meaning victims didn’t consent or couldn’t consent due to incapacity.

§ 2244(a)(2): Contact with Minors 12-15

Sexual contact with victims aged 12-15 when the defendant is at least 4 years older. Maximum: **2 years**. This parallels § 2243(a)’s age-differential rule but applies to sexual contact rather than sexual acts. The same four-year safe harbor protects teenage peers from prosecution.

§ 2244(a)(3): Contact with Children Under 12

Sexual contact with victims under 12 years old. Maximum: **life imprisonment**. Congress determined that any sexual touching of young children—even without penetration—warrants potential life sentences. This provision treats sexual contact with children under 12 as seriously as aggravated sexual abuse.

§ 2244(a)(4): Contact with Incapacitated Persons

Sexual contact with victims rendered unconscious or physically unable to communicate unwillingness. Maximum: **2 years** generally, but higher if other aggravating factors exist. Common scenarios: groping unconscious individuals, touching comatose patients in medical facilities, assaulting persons with severe disabilities preventing communication.

§ 2244(a)(5): Contact with Wards

Sexual contact with minors in official detention under the defendant’s supervisory authority. Maximum: **2 years**. This parallels § 2243(b) but applies to sexual contact rather than acts—guards who grope detainees, probation officers who inappropriately touch supervised youth.

Federal Sentencing: Offense Levels 12-38

Under §2A3.4 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, abusive sexual contact receives base offense level 12 for adult victims, or higher levels for child victims. At Criminal History Category I, level 12 yields 10-16 months. Enhancements include:

• **+6 levels if victim was under 12** (raising to level 18: 27-33 months at Category I)
• **+4 levels if victim was 12-15** (level 16: 21-27 months)
• **+2 levels if the defendant was in a position of trust**
• **+2 levels if a computer was used to facilitate contact**
• **+2 levels if the offense involved use of a computer or interactive computer service to arrange the sexual contact**

When victims are under 12, the cross-reference to §2A3.1 (aggravated sexual abuse) may apply if the conduct involved aggravating circumstances, potentially raising offense levels to 30+ and yielding decade-plus sentences despite the “contact” rather than “act” distinction.

Most adult-victim abusive sexual contact cases result in 12-18 month sentences for first-time offenders. With acceptance of responsibility (−3 levels to 9), defendants often receive probation or time served if they spent months in pretrial detention. But when children are victims, sentences jump dramatically—even brief inappropriate touching of children under 12 can yield 3-5 year sentences when enhancements apply.

Common Prosecution Contexts

Federal abusive sexual contact prosecutions typically arise in specific settings where federal jurisdiction exists:

**Aircraft and maritime.** Unwanted groping on commercial flights, cruise ships, or vessels in federal waters. Flight attendants and passengers reporting inappropriate touching by other passengers lead to FBI investigations and § 2244 charges. These cases often involve intoxicated defendants, sleeping victims, and limited physical evidence beyond victim testimony.

**Federal facilities.** Sexual contact in national parks, federal courthouses, VA hospitals, military bases. Visitors who grope others on federal property, federal employees who assault coworkers, contractors who inappropriately touch people in federal buildings—all face federal rather than state charges.

**Indian country.** Sexual assaults on reservations fall under federal jurisdiction through the Major Crimes Act. Many unwanted touching incidents that would be state misdemeanors become federal crimes when occurring on tribal lands.

**Federal prisons.** Inmates who sexually assault other inmates, guards who inappropriately touch prisoners, visitors who commit sexual contact during prison visits. The federal facility location triggers § 2244 jurisdiction.

The Aircraft Problem

Airplane sexual assaults have increased dramatically. FBI opened 120+ investigations in 2023 compared to 40 in 2014. Defendants—often intoxicated—grope sleeping passengers, fondle seatmates, or expose themselves. Airlines report incidents, planes divert to allow arrests, and prosecutors treat these cases seriously because passengers can’t escape confined spaces.

Defense challenges focus on alternative explanations: accidental contact in cramped seating, misidentification (wrong person accused), victims misinterpreting innocent conduct. Surveillance footage from aircraft cameras (when available), witness statements from nearby passengers, and evidence about defendants’ intoxication levels all matter. Was the defendant conscious and acting deliberately, or were they asleep and moving unconsciously? Did they touch the victim intentionally with sexual intent, or was contact accidental while reaching for overhead compartments?

Intent Requirement: The Critical Element

Section 2244 requires that sexual contact be done “with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse/gratify sexual desire of any person.” Accidental touching—however uncomfortable for victims—doesn’t violate the statute absent intent. That requirement creates defenses when contact was genuinely accidental or when defendants lacked the requisite sexual motivation.

Evidence negating intent: video showing contact was brief and immediately followed by apologies, witnesses describing contact as clearly accidental, lack of any sexual conduct before or after the alleged touching, medical evidence of conditions causing involuntary movements. Prosecutors prove intent through pattern evidence—multiple victims reporting similar conduct, witnesses observing defendants deliberately positioning themselves to touch victims, communications showing sexual interest in victims before incidents occurred.

Collateral Consequences

Even “minor” § 2244 convictions trigger serious consequences:

• *Sex offender registration* – Required for most § 2244 convictions, though tier levels vary by victim age and circumstances. Adult-victim cases might result in 15-year registration; child-victim cases trigger lifetime registration.
• *Supervised release* – Typically 5 years to life, with conditions limiting internet access, prohibiting contact with minors, and restricting where defendants can live and work.
• *Immigration consequences* – Non-citizens face deportation; sexual abuse convictions are aggravated felonies under immigration law.
• *Employment* – Background checks reveal sex offense convictions, eliminating employment in education, healthcare, childcare, and many corporate environments.

For professionals, § 2244 convictions often mean permanent career changes. Pilots, flight attendants, teachers, healthcare workers—anyone whose employment involves vulnerable populations or requires trust—loses jobs and licenses. Someone convicted of groping a passenger on an aircraft faces not just prison time but loss of aviation career, lifetime sex offender registration, and decades of supervised release restrictions.

Defense Strategy

Challenge victim credibility when allegations lack corroboration. Many § 2244 cases involve no physical evidence—no DNA, no injuries, no video documentation. Convictions rest entirely on victim testimony about brief touching in crowded environments. Defense must present evidence undermining reliability: delayed reporting (why wait hours or days to report?), inconsistent statements (victim’s account changed over time), witnesses contradicting victim’s version, physical impossibility (defendant couldn’t have touched victim from their position), alternative suspects (someone else could have made contact).

Present character evidence and lack of motive. Why would the defendant—a professional with no history of inappropriate conduct—suddenly grope a stranger on an airplane? Character witnesses, employment records showing years without complaints, and absence of any motive for sexual assault matter when prosecutors ask juries to believe defendants spontaneously committed sex offenses.

Negotiate to non-sexual offenses when possible. If evidence suggests defendants made unwanted physical contact without sexual intent—pushing, grabbing to restrain, touching accidentally during altercations—prosecutors might accept assault pleas under § 113 rather than § 2244. That negotiation avoids sex offender registration and its lifetime consequences.

Todd Spodek built this firm defending professionals whose careers ended over allegations of brief inappropriate touching—pilots fired for passenger complaints, businesspeople banned from airlines, employees terminated based on accusations never proven. Our representation taught us that § 2244 prosecutions often involve ambiguous situations: crowded spaces where determining who touched whom is difficult, intoxicated accusers whose recollections are unreliable, investigations rushed because airlines and federal facilities want incidents resolved quickly. Defending these cases requires immediate evidence preservation—securing surveillance footage before it’s deleted (airlines typically keep recordings 30 days), interviewing witnesses before they forget or become unavailable, obtaining passenger manifests and seating charts while they’re still accessible. If you’re accused of abusive sexual contact, contact us immediately. These investigations move rapidly, especially on aircraft where FBI meets planes upon landing and conducts interviews before defendants have counsel. We’re available 24/7.