Ryan Pacyga Attorney's video: Is it a crime to grab someone s butt in Minnesota

Criminal defense lawyer Ryan Pacyga explains how Minnesota criminal sexual conduct law applies in a situation if someone grabs someone else's butt over the clothing. Fifth degree criminal sexual conduct can be found at Minnesota statute 609.3451. The law says that a person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the fifth degree if the person engages in nonconsensual sexual contact. There are several examples within the law, but for the example of a grabbing, touching, pinching or slapping the butt, over the clothing, what the law requires is that the act be done with "sexual or aggressive intent." As you may imagine, there can be quite a bit of disagreement about that in some instances. So for sports events where teammates may slap each other's rear ends after a good play, the law does not intend to make that a crime. But if someone is trying to "cop a feel" without the other person's consent, that can certainly be a crime, because it can be with sexual or aggressive intent. What if someone is horsing around? Well the danger is that perhaps the person being grabbed can be angry about that and may indeed perceive it to be with "sexual or aggressive intent" even if the person doing to grabbing or slapping did not have sexual or aggressive intent. The risk is that you may certainly be charged with a crime, and then you're in the position of needing to get a lawyer, spend money, and go through a stressful court situation that may take many months or even a year. We are all human, and we are all capable of doing stupid things from time to time. Alcohol can certainly affect judgment. People also act impulsively and think they're just trying to be funny. But as we all know, things can go wrong very quickly and then you're having to answer for something you may not have thought in advance about. So beware, keep your hands to yourself or ask permission before you decide to give a tap below the belt line. You may be risking your job, your freedom, and many other things. If you or a friend or family member are facing a situation and you may be accused of criminal sexual conduct, feel free to get more information at https://www.arrestedmn.com or call criminal defense attorney Ryan Pacyga at 612-339-5844.