Today we’re talking about common types of assault charges.
The least serious type of assault charge is called common assault.
A common assault can occur even without touching someone, as long as you put that person in immediate fear of their personal safety.
I’m going to punch you in the face.
A common assault can also occur however where there is unauthorised touching of the person.
The next up in terms of seriousness of assault charges is called assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm is where someone assaults you physically and they cause an injury to you but that injury need not be permanent but it must be more than what’s called transient or trifling.
So just can’t be a small injury that’s over in a day or two.
It’s got to be an injury that lasts for some time.
So for example a black eye constitutes actual bodily harm.
The next assault charge up is called wounding.
It can be reckless wounding or wounding with intent.
Now a wounding is any type of injury that cuts through both layers of the skin, so for example a cut sheet or a cut lip would constitute a wounding.
Now the most serious type of assault charge is called grievous bodily harm.
Now grievous bodily harm whether it be grievous bodily harm with intent or grievous bodily harm that is recklessly done is where there is really serious harm done to a person.
So obviously she just cut through my skin and she went a little bit into my heart and so on.
Now that would be grievous bodily harm.
So these are the main types of assault charges around and you can stay tuned next week for murder, when we discussed murder and even more serious types of assault charges.
Video transcription by YouTube