Sexual Assault in Arkansas: First, Second, Third, and Fourth Degree Explained

Arkansas’s four degrees of sexual assault cover different conduct, ages, and relationships. First degree is a Class A felony, second degree is generally a Class B felony, third degree is a Class C felony, and fourth degree can be a felony or a misdemeanor. The degree doesn’t simply describe how much force was used, and even misdemeanor fourth-degree sexual assault can require sex offender registration.

Sexual Assault Degrees And Penalties

These are ordinary incarceration ranges and maximum fines for one count in adult criminal court. They are not predictions of the sentence in a particular case. Juvenile proceedings use different disposition rules.

Ark. Code §§ 5-14-124 through 5-14-127; 5-4-401; 5-4-201.

Qualifying prior convictions can increase exposure under § 5-4-501. Multiple felony sentences can run consecutively under § 5-4-403. Probation or a suspended sentence may be legally available in an eligible case, but a first offense does not guarantee either. The incarceration ranges alone do not decide eligibility.

What Counts As Sexual Contact?

Under Ark. Code § 5-14-101, sexual contact includes touching specified intimate areas for sexual gratification, directly or through clothing. It also includes specified conduct involving bodily waste or ejaculation for sexual gratification. Skin-to-skin contact and penetration are not required for a sexual-contact charge.

Sexual intercourse and the statutory term “deviate sexual activity” involve defined forms of penetration. That distinction matters because some sexual-assault provisions concern contact, while others require intercourse or deviate sexual activity. An accidental touch is not automatically sexual contact; the State must establish the statutory requirements.

First-Degree Sexual Assault: Certain Authority Relationships

Ark. Code § 5-14-124 addresses intercourse or deviate sexual activity in specified relationships. One branch concerns a minor under 18 who is not the accused person’s spouse, where the accused holds a listed custodial, supervisory, school, caretaker, or trust role. The precise requirements differ by role. For example, the mandated-reporter branch requires a position of trust or authority and use of that position to engage in the act.

A separate branch covers a K-12 teacher, principal, athletic coach, or counselor who uses a position of trust or authority to engage in the act with a nonspouse student under 21 enrolled in the employing school. That provision can apply even when the student is 18 or older.

Consent is not a defense under this section. A close-in-age affirmative defense exists only for the branch in § 5-14-124(a)(1)(D): the accused must be no more than three years older than the minor. It is not a blanket exception for every first-degree allegation.

Second-Degree Sexual Assault: Contact, Force, Incapacity, Or Age

Ark. Code § 5-14-125 covers several distinct forms of sexual contact:

• Contact accomplished by forcible compulsion: physical force or a qualifying express or implied threat.
• Contact with someone incapable of consent because of physical helplessness or the statute’s defined mental incapacity conditions.
• Contact by a person 18 or older with someone under 14.
• Contact with a minor in specified custodial, supervisory, mandated-reporter, guardian, school, caretaker, or trust relationships.
• Contact by specified K-12 personnel with a student under 21 when they hold and use a position of trust or authority.

The statute also covers contact by a minor with a nonspouse under 14. That version is Class D rather than Class B. Its close-in-age affirmative defense allows an age difference of no more than three years when the younger person is under 12, or no more than four years when the younger person is 12 or 13.

An incapacity allegation requires proof of the statutory condition. For example, physical helplessness includes unconsciousness or physical inability to communicate a lack of consent. An allegation that someone had been drinking does not, by itself, identify which incapacity requirement the State can prove.

Third-Degree Sexual Assault: Other Authority Cases And A Minor-On-Minor Provision

Ark. Code § 5-14-126 covers intercourse or deviate sexual activity with a nonspouse in specified custody, supervision, mandated-reporter, or clergy relationships. Several branches require proof that the accused held and used a position of trust or authority; the court-ordered-supervision branch has its own requirements. These provisions are not limited to victims under 18.

A separate provision applies when the accused is a minor and the other person is under 14. That provision has an affirmative defense when the accused is no more than three years older. Consent is not a defense under the third-degree statute.

Fourth-Degree Sexual Assault: The Felony And Misdemeanor Versions

Under Ark. Code § 5-14-127, a person 20 or older who engages in intercourse or deviate sexual activity with a nonspouse under 16 commits a Class D felony. If the conduct under that age-based provision consists only of sexual contact, the offense is a Class A misdemeanor.

There is also a Class D felony provision for sexual contact by specified correctional, community-correction, human-services, or jail employees with a nonspouse in the specified custody. That branch does not require the alleged victim to be under 16.

These are not safe-harbor rules. Conduct outside one fourth-degree provision can still meet another sexual-assault or rape statute. For example, sexual contact by an adult with a child under 14 can support second degree.

How Sexual Assault Differs From Rape

Rape is a separate offense under Ark. Code § 5-14-103. It covers intercourse or deviate sexual activity under specified circumstances, including forcible compulsion, defined incapacity, an alleged victim under 14, or certain family or guardian relationships with a minor. Sexual assault is not simply another name for rape, and first degree is not automatically the charge for the most forceful conduct. See our sexual assault and rape defense page.

Consent, Age Mistakes, And The Evidence

Saying “we both agreed” does not answer an allegation based on age or a prohibited relationship. A reasonable mistake about age can be an affirmative defense in some circumstances under Ark. Code § 5-14-102, but not all. When criminality depends on a child being under 14 and the accused is 20 or older, neither ignorance of age nor a reasonable belief that the child was older is a defense. Different rules apply to an accused under 20 and to statutory age thresholds above 14.

An affirmative defense is not merely a denial: the defendant must prove it by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. The State still must prove each element of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt (§ 5-1-111).

A useful defense review compares the exact subsection with birth dates, employment and supervision records, complete communications, interview recordings, medical findings, and the chronology of the accusation. Whether the alleged act occurred, whether contact was sexual, and whether the required relationship existed are separate questions. See our guide to criminal discovery.

The absence of DNA, injuries, or an eyewitness does not automatically defeat the charge. Arkansas courts allow a sexual-assault conviction based on the complainant’s testimony alone when it sufficiently establishes the prohibited acts. Credibility and conflicting accounts remain issues for the fact-finder. See Crider v. State, 2024 Ark. App. 544.

Prison Release And Registration Are Separate Questions

For offenses committed on or after January 1, 2025, the basic adult release framework is:

• First degree: at least 85% of the prison term. A qualifying prior restricted-release or 100% felony conviction raises that requirement to 100%.
• Second degree: earned release credits cannot exceed 50% of the prison term.
• Third degree and felony fourth degree: earned release credits cannot exceed 75%, producing a potential minimum of 25% served.

These are limits on release eligibility, not promised release dates. Credits must be earned and granted; earlier offense dates and other applicable restrictions require a separate calculation. The misdemeanor version is not governed by this felony-credit framework. Sources: §§ 16-93-1802 through 16-93-1804 and 16 CAR § 11-102. Our parole eligibility guide and calculator explain the offense-date distinctions.

All four degrees are listed registration offenses, including misdemeanor fourth degree. An adult guilty plea or conviction can require registration even without a prison sentence (§§ 12-12-903 and 12-12-905). Registration does not automatically end when probation ends. Whether it must continue for life or can later be terminated depends on § 12-12-919. Juvenile adjudications require a separate registration analysis.

Do not assume a first-offender disposition will erase the consequences. Act 346 excludes registration offenses from sealing under that procedure (§ 16-93-303), and felony sex offenses are excluded from sealing under the Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act (§ 16-90-1408). Any proposed plea should be evaluated for the exact offense, sentence, release rules, and registration consequences before you accept it.

What To Do If You Are Accused

• Preserve the full record. Keep complete conversations and original devices, not just favorable screenshots. Missing context can change the meaning of a message.
• Identify records promptly. Give your lawyer dates, locations, potential witnesses, and sources of video or account data before records disappear.
• Avoid direct confrontation. Do not try to obtain a retraction yourself. Follow any no-contact order and discuss proposed contact with counsel.
• Bring the actual paperwork. The charging document, bond conditions, and alleged offense dates let counsel identify the subsection and law that apply.

Updated November 12, 2026

This blog post is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client relationship with Wesley Rhodes, Attorney at Law. If you need legal advice about your specific situation, you should consult with a qualified criminal defense attorney.