What Does Assault of a Protected Class Individual Mean?
The statute’s higher sentencing provisions apply to aggravated assault crimes committed against the protected class of individuals. In the event of an attack perpetrated against a protected class member, the offender is liable to a mandatory jail sentence that is at least two years longer than in other assault cases. If you’re accused of assaulting someone who is blind, disabled, over 60, or pregnant, the allegations will be considered an aggravated assault. An aggravated assault is an attack with more complexity or force than a common assault. It may be a baseball bat or a car, but it could also be a deadly weapon. Using or threatening a chemical with lethal consequences qualifies as a crime.
The Battery of an Unborn Child
A person is guilty of battery on an unborn child if they hurt the unborn child in any way, with or without a legal reason.
A person commits aggravated assault or battery of an unborn child when, while committing the assault, they know that the unborn child will suffer serious bodily harm or will be permanently disabled or disfigured.
A person commits the crime of battery of an unborn child in the First Degree if:
- That person causes serious physical harm to an unborn child by carelessly using a dangerous instrument;
- That person causes serious physical harm to an unborn child with the intent to cause serious physical harm to an unborn child or another person;
- That person knowingly does something that causes serious physical harm to an unborn child under conditions that show extreme inconsideration for the value of human life.
The battery of an unborn child in the first degree is a class A felony.
Second-Degree Battery on an Unborn Child
Someone commits the second-degree crime of battering an unborn child if they:
- With the intent to hurt an unborn child or another person, that person hurts the unborn child seriously;
- That person carelessly seriously hurts the unborn child; or
- That person willfully seriously hurts an unborn child by hitting it repeatedly, even if each hit doesn’t seriously hurt the child on its own.
It is a Class B felony to harm an unborn child in the second degree.
Penalties for Assaulting Pregnant Women
Aggravated assault is a more severe violation that may be prosecuted as a felony or a misdemeanor. Typically, the judgment relies on your criminal record and the case’s specifics. If charged with a misdemeanor, one runs the possibility of:
- Up to one year in prison
- Fines of up to $10,000
- The confiscation of arms
- Probation
- Class on anger control required by the court
- Volunteer service
Aggravated assault, prosecuted as a felony, is a severe offense. Consequently, anybody with two or more convictions for violent offenses, such as domestic abuse or other felonies, is subject to enhanced punishments. Other particular punishments that offenders might incur are:
Assault with a Semi-Automatic Weapon
- Up to 9 years in jail
- Fines of up to $10,000
- Weapons confiscation and loss of gun rights
- Probation
- Remuneration to the victim
- Mandatory anger management course
- Volunteer service
Armed Assault with a Machine Gun
- Maximum of 12 years in jail
- Fines of up to $10,000
- Weapons confiscation and loss of gun rights
- Probation
- Remuneration to the victim
- Mandatory anger management course
- Volunteer service
Assault Likely to Cause Serious Physical Injury
- Up to 4 years in jail
- Fines of up to $10,000
- Weapons confiscation and loss of gun rights
- Probation
- Remuneration to the victim
- Mandatory anger management course
- Volunteer service
Assault by Use of a Firearm
- Up to 4 years in jail
- Fines of up to $10,000
- Weapons confiscation and loss of gun rights
- Probation
- Remuneration to the victim
- Mandatory anger management course
- Volunteer service
Assault with a Lethal Weapon
- Up to 4 years in jail
- Fines of up to $10,000
- Weapons confiscation and loss of gun rights
- Probation
- Remuneration to the victim
- Mandatory anger management course
- Volunteer service
- Restitution
Somebody convicted of assault or battery is compelled to pay restitution, which entails compensating the victim for any expenditures incurred due to the offense, such as medical care or counseling. Dependent on the damages to the victim, the court may order a misdemeanor offender to pay between $150 and $1,000 in compensation. A felony offender may have to pay between $300 and $10,000 in reparation. Repayment orders are the norm; the court may choose not to impose restitution only in rare and compelling circumstances.
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Seppi Esfandi is an Expert Attorney who has over 21 years of practice defending a variety of cases.
