Aggravated sexual battery is among the most severe offenses in Virginia. This offense usually attracts severe penalties and long-term repercussions if you are guilty. It is important that you understand the legal definition, possible defenses, and the steps to take if the prosecutor accuses you of this crime. You should seek the services of a reputable criminal defense attorney immediately if you face aggravated sexual battery charges. An attorney will help you navigate the complicated legal process and ensure that your rights are protected. Your attorney will also create the best defense strategy tailored to your charges. The Virginia Criminal Attorney has a legal team to walk with you to ensure you receive a fair ruling. Contact us today if you need effective legal representation in Northern Virginia and Fairfax.
Aggravated Sexual Battery Explained
You can be guilty of aggravated sexual battery under VA 18.2-67.3 if you unlawfully touch the intimate parts of someone else against their will for sexual abuse. However, your actions must be facilitated by the following factors for you to face the charges:
- The presence of a weapon
- The use of threats or force
- The physical and mental status of the victim
- The age of the victim
A defendant can violate VA 18.2-67.3 if the victim is under 13 years old or if the victim is physically or mentally incapacitated. This law also covers minors aged 13 and 15 who are sexually abused through force or intimidation. The victims who suffer serious bodily harm are also covered under this statute.
Courts enforce this crime as a statutory charge. In this case, you can face charges under VA 18.2-67.3, provided the complainant is under the age of consent. Additionally, the judge can sentence you regardless of whether the complainant consented or initiated the sexual act. Courts also enforce the penalties for the offense at a felony level.
The Elements Of Aggravated Sexual Battery Offense
Sexual assault is the forced or deliberate touching of someone else's intimate parts against their will. According to Virginia Code 18.2-67.3, you must have met one of the following specific circumstances for your charges to be enhanced to aggravated sexual battery:
- The victim was below 13 years
- You capitalized on the physical and mental incapacitation of the victim to commit the offense
- You are a parent, step-parent, grandparent, or step-grandparent, and the victim was aged between 13 and 17 years
- You used intimidation, threats, or force to commit aggravated sexual battery against the will of the victim.
What You Should Do If You Face Aggravated Sexual Battery Charges
You should act fast if you are accused of aggravated sexual battery. This will help you protect your rights and develop a strong defense. Some of the crucial steps you can take include:
Remain Silent
You should avoid talking to the police or anyone else if your criminal defense attorney is not around. You have a right to remain silent because anything you say can be used against you in court.
Consult a Skilled Criminal Defense Attorney
Seek the services of a criminal defense attorney who has a record in defending clients facing sexual battery charges.
Gather Sufficient Evidence
Request your attorney to gather enough evidence to assist you in developing the best defense strategy. In this case, you can gather witness statements, medical records, or video footage.
Develop a Defense Strategy
Work with your criminal defense attorney to create an effective and strong defense strategy tailored to your case.
Categorizing Aggravated Sexual Battery Offense
You will face Class 1 misdemeanor charges if you are guilty of sexual battery. However, you will face Class 6 felony charges if you attempt to commit aggravated sexual battery. You are also required to reveal your status before sexual intercourse if you have HIV or another dangerous disease like syphilis. You risk facing Class 1 misdemeanor charges if you fail to do so.
Consequently, you will face Class 6 felony charges if you deliberately and willingly infect another person with a dangerous disease like:
- Syphilis
- HIV, or
- Any other disease through sexual intercourse
The court can impose a maximum sentence if your previous conviction is the same as an aggravated sexual battery, in addition to Code 18.2-67.3. No section of your charges will be suspended if you accept the previous offense or the jury discovers you committed the crime. A repeat sexual assault is generally categorized as a felony offense. You will receive a written notification at least 30 days before you proceed if you committed a crime less than 20 years before a second violation. The court will inform you how to punish you under the law.
Evidentiary Proceedings
The court will give you a chance, the victim, relevant witnesses, and the jury to participate in the trial. The prosecutor's evidence will not be admissible in court until the jury establishes its validity during the evidentiary hearing. Evidentiary proceedings always occur before the evidence is introduced in the preliminary hearing.
The evidence from other sexual crimes you committed will be admissible if the court convicts you of a felony aggravated sexual battery with a minor under 13 years. This will also happen if the court establishes that your crime bears on necessary issues of aggravated sexual battery.
The court will provide you with certified copies of the orders it intends to introduce before the trial starts. The certified order will have the following information:
- Each past conviction date
- The crime you committed
- The name and court jurisdictions where you were convicted
According to the law, the initial hearings and criminal proceedings of the purported crime involving a minor and in violation of sex laws will apply a week prior to the hearing. The judge can accept to support the victim during the initial hearing. He/she can do this through motion. This provision is only admissible if the victim was 14 years old at the time of the incident and is now 14 or 16 years old during the trial.
The law allows defense attorneys to request an out-of-court trial for aggravated sexual battery with murder against a victim of any age. Courts usually allow this if the complainant is under 13 years. The testimony will be made available in court through television. This usually happens if the minor:
- Will undergo mental trauma and torture while testifying
- Cannot talk about the incident
- Will not show up in court to testify before you and the jury after denying the request to testify
Findings, either recorded or written, must support the minor's unavailability. The only people who will be permitted in the testimony room with the minor are those within the view of the open circuit television camera. The judge will only allow people who will positively influence the minor and their well-being in the testimony room. The presence of your attorney and the prosecutor will be permitted in televised testimonies and when the minor is testifying. The minor will be cross-examined directly prior to their testimony.
Punishment For Aggravated Sexual Battery
The courts usually consider aggravated sexual battery a statutory offense. If you are guilty of this offense, you will face a jail term that does not exceed 20 years in a state prison. This crime can also attract a fine that does not exceed $100,000.
Unfortunately, aggravated sexual battery offense often happens in a family environment where parents or stepparents intimately touch minors under their care. These cases are also common in institutions where caregivers molest minors.
According to Virginia Code 18.2-67.2, sexual penetration using foreign objects is considered aggravated sexual battery. You will face severe penalties if the court finds you guilty of sexual penetration if you use an object to penetrate the intimate parts of someone else. This will happen whether the victim is your spouse or is under 13 years old. Elements like the use of physical or mental incapacitation or force also apply to this offense.
You will face felony charges if you are guilty of sexual penetration by an object. In this case, the minimum jail term you can face is five years, but you can also face life imprisonment. The court can also impose a minimum jail term of 25 years to life imprisonment if you are older than the victim. You will serve these sentences alongside additional sentences. However, if the judge does not sentence you to life imprisonment, the judge can impose a 40-year suspension jail term in addition to the ongoing jail term. Unless the judge revokes this sentence, it will be effective for your entire life.
For spouses, your suspension will start after you have finished counseling or therapy as ordered by the court. The court can order you to go for counseling therapy if it establishes that it will be of great help in maintaining the family's unity and in the victim's interest.
Defenses To Aggravated Sexual Battery
There are several defenses you can present if the prosecutor accuses you of aggravated sexual battery. They include:
The Touch Was Not Sexual
You can only face aggravated sexual battery charges if your touch on someone else was sexual. However, your attorney can claim that the contact was never sexual, even if you touched the victim's intimate parts. Your legal team can also allege that the notion was not to arouse or gratify sexual feelings or force the victim to engage in sexual activity. The court can dismiss or reduce your charges if your attorney convinces the judge.
The Victim Consented or You Had Permission
Your attorney can argue that you acted under the victim's will. The attorney can also claim that the purported victim is your intimate partner and you wanted to enjoy your marital rights. Your legal team can also assert that the victim used a disagreement afterward to claim that you sexually battered them.
You Were Falsely Accused
Your attorney can help you challenge your aggravated sexual battery charges by outlining that you are falsely accused. False allegations can arise from the victim's mental state at the time of the incident, misunderstanding, intoxication, or as a way of revenge. However, this defense can only be admissible in court if no eyewitness or recorded evidence proves that you committed the crime.
In most situations, your attorney can use mistaken identity to argue in your favor. A mistaken identity defense can only be admissible in court if the real perpetrator had face-masking clothes or anything that can hide their identity. In this case, your attorney can assert that the victim mistook you for another person.
Not Enough Evidence
Your attorney can challenge the prosecutor's evidence by alleging that it does not show that you used threats or force during sexual conduct between you and the complainant. The attorney can also claim that the alleged victim was not physically disabled or mentally incapacitated. This defense can only be admissible in court if the case is filed in court after a long time.
Rebut Evidence
Your attorney can challenge the charges successfully if the prosecutor presents evidence that rebuts the evidence provided about the previous sexual assault against the victim. The judge can drop your charges if the prosecutor's evidence is linked to a prior incident of sexual conduct that you did not commit.
Related Offenses
Other crimes can be charged together with aggravated sexual battery. The crimes will be charged based on their elements, even if they involve sexual acts. The offenses include:
Statutory Rape - Virginia Code Section 18.2-61 And 18.2-63
The crucial element when it comes to determining the offense of rape is the absence of the victim's consent. You can face statutory rape charges if you engage in sexual intercourse with a minor, even if it is consensual. This will happen because the law considers young individuals of a particular age unable to provide informed consent to sex lawfully. Charges for this offense can appear unfair or surprising, especially if the defendant is also a minor who has never had any legal issues previously.
You should seek the services of a statutory rape attorney because of the devastating consequences of a statutory rape charge. You should act fast once the charges have been filed or an investigation has commenced.
Statutory rape is charged in two ways in Virginia. The offender's penalties will depend on the victim's age during the incident and the specific conduct the parties engaged in. You will face felony charges under Virginia Code 18.2-61 if you are guilty of having sexual intercourse with a minor aged 13 years. Depending on your age, the court can impose a jail term that does not exceed five years to life imprisonment.
You will face a Class 4 felony under Virginia Code Section 18.2-63 if you "carnally know" a minor between 13 and 15 years. Under this law, carnal knowledge encompasses oral sex, sexual penetration, and other sexual acts.
If both of you are minors, an offender will face a Class 4 misdemeanor or Class 6 felony. However, this will depend on the age difference between you and the victim. Each of these offense categories attracts a jail term and monetary fines.
A statutory rape offense does not require the prosecutor to prove that an assault happened. However, crimes that involve the application of force can also be charged under aggravated sexual battery law VA 18.2-67.3.
Penalties For Statutory Rape Charges
The consequences of a statutory rape conviction can be severe despite most cases labeled as statutory rape are consensual acts committed by people without criminal intent. The court can order you to register as a sex offender even after serving a jail term and paying fines. This can also inflict social stigma on you, affecting you for the rest of your life.
This kind of criminal record can also do the following:
- Damage your reputation and relationships
- Prevent you from securing a chance in certain professional organizations
- Cause the loss of the existing employment opportunities
- Hinder you from future employment prospects
The defenses you can present against statutory rape charges include:
- You are a victim of false accusation
- Mistaken identity
- Insufficient evidence
- The victim consented
Sexual Battery - Virginia Code 18.2-67.4
You can face sexual battery charges under Virginia Code 18.2-67.4 if you commit sexual abuse on someone else through intimidation, tricks, or threats. This can involve a powerful individual sexually abusing a parolee, probationer, pretrial offender, or inmate. The court can charge you with sexual battery if you commit the above offenses on more than one victim in two years. You will also face similar charges if you sexually abuse one victim several times in two years against their will. The judge can also charge you with sexual battery if you forcefully touch the intimate body parts of someone else deliberately or willfully.
Sexual battery is usually classified as a Class 1 misdemeanor. However, you will face the penalties based on:
- The number of times you have sexually abused the victim
- If you used intimidation or force, and
- The age of the complainant
The prosecutor must prove the following elements for you to face the charges under VA 18.2-67.4:
- You touched the intimate parts of the victim.
- You touch the victim against their will. In this case, the court will charge you for forcing yourself on the victim against their will.
- You had the intention or sexual motive to commit the act.
- You used force, intimidation, or threats on the victim.
Penalties For Sexual Battery Charges
Sexual battery is a misdemeanor offense punishable by imprisonment of up to 12 months in a state prison. The judge can also impose a fine of $2,500. A third conviction for sexual battery is an automatic felony offense.
Forcible Sodomy
You can be guilty of forcible sodomy if you engage in fellatio, cunnilingus, anilingus, or anal intercourse with the victim, whether or not it is your spouse, or cause the victim, whether or not it is your spouse, to engage in these acts with any other person provided that:
- The complaining victim is under 13 years old; or
- The conduct is carried out against the complainant's will
- You used threat, force, or intimidation or took advantage of the victim's mental or physical infirmity.
Forcible sodomy is a criminal offense punishable by life imprisonment in a state facility or a sentence of at least five years.
The required minimum periods of imprisonment provided for infractions of this section must be served concurrently with any other sentence. If the term of incarceration imposed for any breach of subdivision A 1 is less than life imprisonment and the criminal is more than three years older than the victim, the judge must impose a sentence of at least 40 years in addition to any active sentence. This suspended sentence will be suspended for the rest of the defendant's life unless the court revokes it.
Object Sexual Penetration
You can be guilty of sexual penetration using an object if you penetrate the vagina or anus of a victim against their will using an object. You will face charges whether or not the victim is a spouse, provided the penetration is not for a bona fide medical purpose. You can also face charges under this statute if you cause the victim to penetrate his or her own body with an object or cause the victim to engage in such acts with any other person. Charges will also apply if you cause the victim to penetrate or to be penetrated by an animal.
The elements of the crime include:
- The victim is under 13 years of age.
- The conduct is carried out against the complainant's will, through force, threat, or intimidation, or by taking advantage of their mental or physical infirmity.
- Object sexual penetration is a felony offense punishable by incarceration in a state prison for life or a prison term of not less than five years.
Find an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
Aggravated sexual battery is a serious crime under Virginia law. A conviction of this offense can have detrimental and far-reaching consequences, including imprisonment in a state prison, hefty fines, and serving probation. A conviction can also affect other areas of your life, making it challenging to secure employment and housing. If you face aggravated battery charges, our attorneys at the Virginia Criminal Attorney can help. All our attorneys are certified and experienced, equipping them to handle any criminal defense case, no matter how intricate. For reliable legal representation in Northern Virginia and Fairfax, contact us today. Call us at 703-718-5533 to speak to one of our attorneys.
