State in the Interest of M.T.S.
New Jersey Supreme Court
609 A.2d 1266 (1992)
The complainant, C.G., testified that M.T.S. (defendant) began having intercourse with her while she slept without her consent, while M.T.S. claimed the encounter began consensually with kissing and touching before intercourse, which C.G. then asked him to stop, which he did. The trial court found C.G. had consented to kissing and touching but not to penetration, and the jury convicted M.T.S. of sexual assault, finding no consent to the sexual act; the appellate court reversed, reasoning the state failed to prove any force beyond the sexual act itself, and the state appealed.
Whether the element of physical force for the offense of sexual assault is met by an act of non-consensual penetration involving no more force than necessary to accomplish the penetration.