Felonious Assault

Criminal Defense

I have been picking up a lot of clients lately charged with Felonious Assault, as defined in the Ohio Revised Code under § 2903.11. The normal scenario is that the client is either in jail, and is having family members call around to price attorneys, OR the client themselves do not understand where the charges are coming from, and do not understand their meaning. Either way, I offer this article as a basic education for the public and future clients, because I find that an educated client, is a happy client.

2903.11 Felonious Assault

  1. No person shall knowingly do either of the following:
    1. Cause serious physical harm to another or to another’s unborn;
    2. Cause or attempt to cause physical harm to another or to another’s unborn by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance. (Note: I will discuss gun specifications in another article, but for the purposes of this article, please understand that the TYPE of deadly weapon can make a difference in the degree of the charge. The more deadly the weapon, and the damage done to the alleged victim, the higher degree of felony, and the possible addition of gun specifications.)
  2. No person, with knowledge that the person has tested positive as a carrier of a virus (HIV) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), shall knowingly do any of the following;
    1. Engage in sexual conduct with another person without disclosing that knowledge to the other son prior to engaging in the sexual conduct;
    2. Engage in sexual conduct with a person whom the offender knows or has reasonable cause to believe lacks the mental capacity to appreciate the significance of the knowledge that the offender has tested positive as a carrier of a virus (HIV) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS): (NOTE: Pay particular attention to the language “whom the offender knows or has reasonable cause to believe lacks the mental capacity to appreciate the significance of the knowledge…” This places the burden on the person with the HIV virus. If you are about to engage in any kind of sexual conduct with someone whom is not that bright, or has no idea how HIV is transmitted, or is of a young age, I strongly urge you to reconsider what you are about to get yourself into. There are other fish in the sea my friends.)
    3. Engage in sexual conduct with a person under eighteen (18) years of age who is not the spouse of the offender. (Note: Please refer to the NOTE above. I beg of you!)
  3. The prosecution of a person under this section does not preclude prosecution of that person under section 2907.02 of the Ohio Revised Code: (Note: Section 2907.02 of the Ohio Revised Code Section is for the sexual assault of Rape – meaning just because you may be charged with one of the above criminal chargers does not mean they cannot ALSO charge you with Rape, if the facts give rise to the required probable cause to take it in front of a grand jury on the additional sexual assault charge.)

This is not the entire Code Section. Subsection (D) goes onto describe the different degrees of felonies, based upon the facts of the case. For example, if the alleged victim of the crime is a peace officer or an investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, felonious assault is a felony of the first degree.

No one understands more than I do how an argument, no matter whom it is with, can escalate so very quickly, and before you know it, things have moved from a simple verbal altercation into something far more serious. I deal with these types of cases all the time, with absolutely no judgment, and work them with the same diligence I do any other case.

If you find yourself or a loved one, friend, or co-worker facing these types of charges, please do not hesitate to contact me on my direct line at (614) 569-0342.