Guilt is a state of existence. It refers not to the feeling that we feel when we've done something although that's the part most of us know intimately. Guilt is the state of having crossed a boundary.
In marriage, we often have boundaries about fidelity and sharing our sexual expression with only our spouse. In society we have boundaries about murdering someone, stealing something or even saying something bad about someone without proof to backup our statement. Crossing those boundaries can make you guilty in America in a civil or ciminal manner; you may be sued in civil court or the government may take you to criminal court.
In any of these situations, a person's feelings do not play a part in the nature of the guilt. The sense that someone sincerely feels remorse for their wrongdoing may affect the judgement against someone if they are found to be guilty but those feeings don't matter in whether they are actually guilty or not.
If you're human, my view is that you either are guilty of something right now or have been guilty in the past and, given enough time, will be guilty again in the future. My belief is that people, myself included, are extraordinarily bad at not crossing boundaries whether they are implied, imposed upon us by law or agreed to through our own commitment (such as in marriage vows).
