Minnesota Assault Law
Minnesota Attorney Rich Ruohonen is representing the family of a three-year-old boy that was sexually assaulted at a casino child care center by an older child. “Obviously there wasn’t adequate supervision or this never would have happened,” stated Rich in his interview with CBS affiliate WCCO regarding this case. Watch the video.
Read our blog post about the Minnesota doctor who had sex with patients.
Minnesota Attorney Elliot Olsen recently settled a case involving a young woman who had an affair with her therapist. Commenting on these types of cases, Olsen said, “It is very common for a victim to avoid bringing a claim against a therapist, or even reporting the therapist, because of the victim’s powerful belief that they were a willing participant in the relationship. In light of the inherent imbalance of power in the relationship, nothing could be further from the truth.” Given this imbalance of power, Minnesota law recognizes that the victim is deemed incapable of consenting to the relationship.
Minnesota Assault Law: Degrees of Assault
There is a wide range in the severity of assaults. While all assaults are emotionally traumatizing and physically disparaging the degree of an assault is measured on a five point scale for criminal cases under Minnesota assault law:
• First Degree Assault- Considered a felony, First Degree Assault is described as inflicting great bodily harm or the use of deadly force.
• Second Degree Assault- Also a felony, Second Degree Assault is assault with a deadly weapon.
• Third Degree Assault- Third Degree Assault is an assault on a minor or assault where substantial bodily harm is inflicted. Third Degree Assault is also considered a felony.
• Fourth Degree Assault- Fourth Degree Assault is considered a gross misdemeanor and is an attack on a peace officer while they are performing their duties.
• Fifth Degree Assault- Considered a misdemeanor, Fifth Degree Assault usually refers to domestic abuse or violence in which no substantial harm is inflicted.
Civil cases do not use these levels of assault, although a criminal conviction is relevant to proving the case. Instead of using the criminal degrees of assault to determine the money damages in a civil assault case, the harm inflicted on the victim is at issue. Also, a good lawyer is going to seek compensation from as many parties as possible because the person who committed the assault may not have any money. For example, in a recent case involving a school shooting, attorney Rich Ruohonen commenced suit against the school district and the security company that was providing security for the school.
In a Minnesota assault case involving a woman assaulted in an apartment, possible defendants (in addition to the assailant) could be the owner of the apartment, a security company, the manufacturer of a defective lock, a maintenance company and others. In an assault case involving a drunken brawl, possible defendants could include the bar where the attacker consumed alcohol, the owner of the place where the brawl happened and others. The facts of each case should be carefully examined by one of our lawyers. Contact our law firm for a free consultation:
- Call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free)
- Email our lawyers (only our lawyers use this email address)
- Submit our free assault case consultation form (below)
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