sex offense
a sex act that is prohibited by law. An individual who has committed such an offense is called a sex offender. Some crimes are acts of violence involving sex, and others are violations of social taboos; there is much variation, by culture and jurisdiction, concerning which behaviors are considered crimes and how they may be punished. Some jurisdictions consider certain consensual sex acts to be illegal. Common examples of sex offenses include forcible and statutory rape, child molestation, incest, prostitution and pimping, bestiality, sodomy, sex murder, and forcible sexual assault without penetration. Also called sexual offense. See also molestation.