What is sexual battery in Florida?

Sexual battery covers oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another, or penetration by any other object, without consent.

The offense is graded by several factors: the age of the alleged victim, the age of the defendant, whether a weapon or physical force was used, whether serious injury resulted, and whether the defendant held a position of familial or custodial authority. The most serious versions are capital or life felonies.

Consent has a statutory definition — intelligent, knowing, and voluntary consent — and it does not include coerced submission. Consent is not a defense where the alleged victim was below the relevant age or was mentally or physically incapacitated.

Where these cases are litigated: the consent question where age isn't dispositive, the reliability and consistency of the account, forensic and medical evidence and its absence, timeline reconstruction, and the circumstances in which the report was made.

Registration follows conviction, and in some circumstances civil commitment proceedings can follow a sentence.