A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to create the offense of sexual battery.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 7 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 14-27.15.  Sexual battery.
(a)	Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
(1)	'Intimate parts' means the genital area, groin, anus, inner thighs, buttocks, or breasts.
(2)	'Sexual contact' means any contact by a defendant with the intimate parts of a person not married to the defendant for the purpose of sexual gratification of the defendant or for the purpose of degrading or humiliating the person or any contact by a defendant of the intimate parts of the defendant with a person not married to the defendant for the purpose of sexual gratification of the defendant or for the purpose of degrading or humiliating the person.
(b)	Offense. – A defendant commits the offense of sexual battery if the defendant intentionally subjects another person to sexual contact. 
(c)	Penalty. – A defendant convicted of a first offense under this section is guilty of a Class A1 misdemeanor. A defendant convicted of a second or subsequent offense under this section is guilty of a Class I felony."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2003, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.