Various types of assault charges can be laid

Various types of assault charges can be laid

By Vince Semenuk

There are various types of assault charges a person may face upon arrest with penalties ranging from fines to a 14-year prison sentence. The most common assault charges are:

  • simple assault (also known as common assault or assault simpliciter);
  • assault causing bodily harm;
  • assault with a weapon;
  • choking, suffocating or strangling the complainant; and
  • aggravated assault.

Understanding the differences between these charges is crucial in knowing what lies ahead of you.

What is assault, generally speaking?

Section 265 of the Criminal Code says a person commits an assault when:

  • They intentionally apply force to another person, directly or indirectly, without their consent.
  • They attempt or threaten to apply force to another person, causing that person to fear for their safety.
  • They accost or impede another person while openly wearing or carrying a real or imitation weapon.

There has to be a lack of consent on the part of the complainant for an assault charge to be laid.

What is simple assault?

Let’s say you slap or punch someone or even just threaten to use force against them. You could be charged with simple assault, even if there was no injury or physical contact. All that is required is that you threatened force, directly or indirectly, against another person without their consent.

Similarly, you could be charged with simple assault if you push someone during an argument or if you grab someone by the arm and force them to come with you a short distance against their will.

Simple assault is the least serious type of assault charge that can be laid, but the penalty can still be significant. It is a hybrid offence, meaning that the Crown can prosecute it either as an indictable offence or a summary conviction.

An indictable simple assault offence carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum penalty for a charge treated as a summary conviction is two years in jail and/or a $5,000 fine. The Crown will usually proceed by summary conviction if no injuries were sustained due to the assault.

What is assault causing bodily harm?

If a person suffers physical injuries because of your actions you be charged with assault causing bodily harm. The Criminal Code defines bodily harm as “any hurt or injury to a person that interferes with the health or comfort of the person and that is more than merely transient or trifling in nature (lésions corporelles).”

In order to convict you of this crime, the Crown must prove the injury was not "trifling” or "transient" in nature.

Police typically lay this charge if the complainant has suffered broken bones or injuries such as injury that requires surgery, lacerations or broken teeth and broken bones.

If it is alleged that you have strangled or choked an individual there is a separate charge under 267(c) of the Criminal Code.

If the Crown proceeds by way of summary conviction the maximum penalty is a $5,000 fine and/or 18 months in a provincial jail. If the Crown elects to proceed by indictment the maximum penalty is 10 years in a federal penitentiary.

What is assault with a weapon?

As the name implies, this charge can be laid if you were brandishing any item considered a weapon during an assault. Examples would include waving a knife in the direction of a person or threatening to strike someone with a baseball bat. Simply having a weapon openly on your person while taking part in an assault can result in this charge.

The crimes of “assault causing bodily harm,” “assault with a weapon” and “choking, suffocating, or strangling” are combined in s. 267 of the Criminal Code. If the charge is treated as a summary conviction the maximum penalty is a $5,000 fine and/or a six-month jail term.

If the charge is prosecuted as an indictable offence, it carries a maximum 10-year prison term. Crown attorneys will usually seek a period of incarceration upon conviction with indictable offences. The court will consider such factors as the seriousness of the incident and your prior criminal record when deciding on a sentence.

What is aggravated assault?

Section 268 of the Criminal Code says a person commits aggravated assault if they maim, disfigure or endanger the life of another person.

An assault causing bodily harm charge could be bumped up to aggravated assault when the incident causes and injury that maims the complainant for life.

Unlike other types of assault, aggravated assault is always treated as an indictable offence. The maximum penalty is 14 years in prison, almost three times as long as the maximum penalty for simple assault. If you are a repeat offender or if you used a weapon in the commission of an aggravated assault, you can expect harsher sentences. You may also be banned from owning firearms and have your DNA entered into the National DNA Data Bank.

Defences against an assault charge

The Crown attorney has to prove that you not only committed the assault but you intended to do that while knowing it was against the law. Each defence is based on the circumstances, but some common ones include:

  • There was consent. If two people argue and then mutually start to exchange physical blows, it can be argued there was consent for the injuries either of the participants suffered. However, this defence is not available if you cause serious injury to the other party. An individual cannot consent to an assault that causes bodily harm. If you beat a man to an inch of his life in a bar-room brawl you may not have the defence of a consensual fight.
  • Lack of intent. If you can show that the use of force was an accident, the court may dismiss your case. For example, if your elbow bumps into someone without any intent to harm them, that should not qualify as assault.
  • Self-defence: Perhaps you reasonably believe you or someone you are with was about to be assaulted so you took action to protect yourself or others, which may have caused injury to someone else.

Assault cases in Alberta

In November 2024, an Athabasca-area man pleaded guilty to one count of simple assault and one count of failing to comply with a probation order after he pushed a woman he was walking with to her knees. According to a news report, the man was intoxicated and was on a probation order with a no-contact order for the woman he was with. The judge accepted his guilty pleas and handed down a 25-day custodial sentence which was satisfied by time served.

In November 2024, a Boyle, Alta., man pleaded guilty to simple assault and failing to comply with a release order after he was convicted of assaulting his parents. According to a news report, the RCMP received a call from the man’s parents and the mother “could be heard yelling over the phone that he was going to kill her, and his father told the operator his son had hit him.” The story states that the man did not have permission from his bail supervisor to be out of his residence after his curfew. The man was given a 30-day jail sentence.

In 2016, two Alberta brothers were sentenced to one year in jail for one count of aggravated assault and one count of assault causing bodily harm. According to a news report, they kicked two men in the head outside of a bar after being taunted about their weight. One of the victims suffered a “major eye injury” due to the attack. The story notes that although “the sentencing range for aggravated assault is between two and four years, [the judge] accepted the jointly-recommended sentence of one year in jail for each of the men on the aggravated assault charge and six months to be served concurrently for assault causing bodily harm, with “a large emphasis” placed on the men pleading guilty and not wasting “police resources or court time.”

Contact us for assistance

Any type of assault charge is serious. However, if you are charged with aggravated assault, you face more severe penalties. This charge will also affect the strategy a criminal defence lawyer will employ in your defence and will limit the potential for plea bargaining with the Crown. Once you are a client, a team member at Dunn & Associates will listen to your account of what led to the charge, assess the Crown’s evidence then suggest your best defence. Contact us for a free consultation.