There are three forms of assault that can be punishable in a court of a law: common assault, criminal assault, or aggravated assault. Common assault is almost any behavior that can be judged as offensive or threatening, which is done with the volition to harm someone else but fails in physical harm. For instance, if you try to hit someone with a punch, a kick, or an object and miss, you have committed a common attack against them. Even though no physical harm was done, the failure to commit a criminal attack may still be prosecuted as a common one.
Criminal assault is associated with battery and is harmful, physical contact, which has resulted in another person’s injury. For instance, punching, kicking, or using an object whether by striking or throwing are forms of battery as long as the victim has been physically harmed. Aggravated assault is where the offender uses a foreign object as a weapon and injures his or her victim severely, which goes beyond the normalcy of a common criminal strike.
Facing charges for assaulting a minor? Contact our assault lawyers for a free case evaluation.Jail-time and high monetary fines are common reprimands for a conviction, especially if the endangerment involves a minor. For instance, if an adult gets into a confrontation with someone under the age 18 and injures the child, then, the adult could spends years in prison and thousands of dollars in fees. A common form of an offense to a minor is typically known as child abuse. Child abuse is when a parent has hurt his or her child in such a way that goes beyond the lawful form of discipline. Another common form is a sexual advance that occurs from an adult to someone under the age of 18.
California Assault Laws
Californian assault laws are found within Penal Code sections 240-246. If you have been accused of committing this crime, it is recommended that you go over these laws with a certified attorney. The typical charge that someone will face for a battery to a minor is PC 243.4 (6). This type of battery has been done on purpose and has physically hurt someone less than 18 years of age. Below is a gross summary of what these laws mean in layman’s terms. They are not extensive and do not include all of the individual categories of the sections:
- PC 240 explains that an assault as an illegal attempt to violently injure another person.
- PC 241 stipulates that this action is punishable by a fine that does not exceed $1,000 and does not exceed six months in jail.
- PC 242 states that battery is an intentional use of violent force to another person.
- PC 243 assesses that battery is punishable by up to $2,000 in fines and incarceration in jail that does not exceed six months.
- 243.4 (6) is against a minor, someone under 18 years of age
- (d) If the offender has had a prior felony conviction, the offender may be imprisoned from two to four years and may receive a fine that does not exceed $10,000.
- 243.4 (6) is against a minor, someone under 18 years of age
- PC 244 describes a “flammable substance” against someone else as an illegal violent action.
- PC 245 mentions that the use of a foreign object as a deadly weapon is a force of violence.
- PC 246 specifically notes that the use of firearm against someone is a violent act even if the firearm has not been fired.
Defense Strategies
A defense against a violent accusation to a minor is difficult, especially if the minor is willing or is able to provide a testimony. For this reason, a defense attorney is desperately needed to present the truth and prove one’s innocence. Below are a few methods that a trained legal professional may provide for you:
- False Allegations
- Sometimes an accusing party will be lying for predisposed reasons. For instance, a divorced husband or wife may accuse his or her ex-spouse of abusing their children for the real reason of wanting more custody rights. In another instance, a child may fabricate a story that he was abused by an adult whether one of his or her parents, teacher, priest, or so on in order to get his or her way about something completely unrelated. A child may also try to extort an adult for a financial gain by claiming that the adult had committed an offense on the child.
- Injury as a Result of an Accident
- In some cases, one can try and prove that a child’s injury or abuse occurred as a mere accident and was unintentional. This defense mainly relies on witness accounts, as the intent of the alleged accuser is hard to prove.
- Religious Beliefs
- In the United States of America, citizens have a right to freedom of religion. With this defense, an attorney will prove that his or her client’s violence follows the existential requirements of a religion and cannot be prosecuted as a normal assault charge. While this method is not full proof, it may be effective when arguing a parent’s religious ways of disciplining his or her child.
Legal Assistance
At first glance, an adult who has wrongly been accused of purposely hurting a minor may seem like an offender and that offender may also feel hopeless in proving his or her innocence. It is important to understand that a lot of these cases are actually misconstrued to make those innocent appear to be offenders. For this reason, a charge with an assault against a minor is a legal case that cannot be defended alone.
An assault case is one where only a trained defense lawyer with a proven-track record is best qualified in proving and presenting one’s innocence of an assault conviction. A successful law firm can provide an attorney with experience that knows what to look for in order to show that the accusations against his or her client are false.
Those facing charges in Riverside County, Orange County, San Diego County, or Los Angeles County are eligible for a free confidential case evaluation from a Law Offices of Randy Collins criminal defense lawyer. Call (844) 285-9559 to get help now
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