Serious Assault (Youth)

The Criminal Code deals with the charge of assault starting at s.265 states that you can face prosecution if you intentionally apply force directly or indirectly on a victim without their consentVoluntary agreement to engage in an sexual act. No physical contact is necessary to be charged. If you threaten "either by act or gesture" to apply force to another person or if you confront someone while openly wearing or carrying a weapon or imitation weapon, you could find yourself in court.

Assault causing bodily harm If a person has suffered injuries because of something you have done, you can face a youth court trial for assault causing bodily harm.

The law 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. An injury that heals quickly and causes no lasting difficulty may not reach this threshold. Many visible injuries, including bruising and a sore throat lasting more than a few days, can qualify. Courts look at the overall effect of all injuries together, not each injury in isolation.

Assault with a weapon, choking, suffocating or strangling Section 267 of the Code covers three related forms of assault. Assault with a weapon can be laid if a weapon is used in an assault. A weapon can be anything from a fork to a gun, depending on the circumstances. Assault causing bodily harm can be laid where the complainant suffers bodily harm. A third ground, added to the Code in 2019, covers choking, suffocating or strangling the complainant.

Aggravated assault If someone is wounded, maimed, disfigured, or their life is endangered, and you are responsible, you could be charged with aggravated assault. It is the most serious form of assault and is found in s.268 of the Criminal Code. What sets aggravated assault apart from other types of assault is the severity of the injuries inflicted.

Endangerment to life must involve an actual risk, but it does not necessarily have to result in actual bodily harm.

To win a conviction, the Crown prosecutorA lawyer who conducts a criminal prosecution on behalf of the public. must prove beyond a reasonable doubtThe high standard the Crown must meet to prove guilt. that:

• you applied force to someone;
• the victim did not consent to that force; and
• the force was applied intentionally.

The Crown must establish an intent, or mens reaThe mental element required for an offence., to cause bodily harm. It is not necessary to prove there was an intent to maim, wound or disfigure.

Police have the option to use extrajudicial measuresYouth justice responses outside formal court proceedings. when a youth has been charged with any offence. This involves handling the case outside the formal court process to rehabilitate the offender. However, if your case is not resolved through extrajudicial measures, it will be dealt with in youth court.

Your defence attorney might submit evidence to show your actions were not intentional or that you were protecting yourself, your property or others at the time. There could also be reasons why your arrest was not lawful under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

If you are charged with assault causing bodily harm or assault with a weapon, the Crown can proceed as an indictable offenceA more serious type of Canadian criminal offence., and you would face imprisonment. The prosecutor could also deal with the offence as a summary convictionLess-serious criminal offences with less severe penalties.

The Crown will consider such factors as the seriousness of the incident and your prior criminal record when deciding how to proceed.

Aggravated assault is treated as an indictable offence only.

The Department of Justice states the "youth criminal justice system must be separate from the adult system and based on the principle that youth are presumed to be less morally blameworthy than adults."

In deciding on punishment for those between the ages of 12 and 18, the youth justice court considers:

• the degree of participation by the young personA person dealt with under the youth criminal justice system. in the commission of the offence;
• the harm done to victims and whether it was intentional or reasonably foreseeable;
• any reparation made by the young person to the victim or the community;
• the time spent in detention by the young person as a result of the offence;
• the previous findings of guilt of the young person; and
• any other aggravating and mitigating circumstances related to the young person or the offence.

Under the YCJA, incarceration is intended primarily for violent and serious repeat offenders. The maximum length of youth sentences ranges from two to 10 years.

Judges are also permitted to impose an adult sentence for serious offences where the offender was 14 years of age or older when the crime was committed. However, the Act allows provinces to raise the age at which this obligation applies to 15 or 16.

If an adult sentence is imposed, Criminal Code penalties for adult offenders are handed down. Those sentenced as an adult remain incarcerated in a youth facility until they are 18 and then transferred to an adult prison.

If an adult is convicted of assault causing bodily harm or assault with a weapon and the Crown proceeds by summary conviction, the maximum penalty is two years less a day in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. If the Crown proceeds by indictment, the maximum penalty is 10 years in prison.

Aggravated assault results in a maximum adult prison sentence of 14 years.

Those convicted of aggravated assault are subject to a mandatory weapons prohibition order pursuant to s.109 of the Code and a mandatory weapon forfeiture order pursuant to s.491.

Which assault charge is involved?

• assault with a weapon
• assault causing bodily harm
• aggravated assault

“Serious assault” is a plain-language grouping, not one single Criminal Code offence.

This page is about a young person — someone aged 12 to 17 at the time of the offence — under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA).

A young person can be charged with this Criminal Code offence, but youth sentencing is different from adult sentencing. If the young person is found guilty, the youth justice court applies the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Many less serious first-time youth matters may be handled through warnings, cautions, referrals, or extrajudicial measures instead of a formal court sentence. If the court does impose a youth sentence, the YCJA provides a range of options, including reprimands, discharges, probation, community service, restitution, and, in more serious cases, custody and supervision.

Custody is not the starting point for every youth case. The result depends on the charge, the facts, the young person’s history, the harm caused, the available programs, and the YCJA sentencing principles.

In rare cases, the Crown can ask for an adult sentence. That is not automatic. The court must apply the YCJA test before an adult sentence can be imposed.

For most offences, a custody-and-supervision order cannot exceed two years, or three years if the offence carries adult life imprisonment.

Aggravated assault (the most serious of these) carries a higher adult maximum, so an adult sentence is more likely to be considered here than for a simple assault — but it remains a rare, case-by-case exception, not the ordinary outcome.

For a fuller explanation of how young people are sentenced, see How Youth Sentencing Works in Canada.