2006 Ohio Revised Code - 2903.11. Felonious assault.

§ 2903.11. Felonious assault.
 

(A)  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. 

(B)  No person, with knowledge that the person has tested positive as a carrier of a virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, shall knowingly do any of the following: 

(1) Engage in sexual conduct with another person without disclosing that knowledge to the other person 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 that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; 

(3) Engage in sexual conduct with a person under eighteen years of age who is not the spouse of the offender. 

(C)  The prosecution of a person under this section does not preclude prosecution of that person under section 2907.02 of the Revised Code. 

(D)  Whoever violates this section is guilty of felonious assault, a felony of the second degree. If the victim of a violation of division (A) of this section is a peace officer, felonious assault is a felony of the first degree. If the victim of the offense is a peace officer, as defined in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code, and if the victim suffered serious physical harm as a result of the commission of the offense, felonious assault is a felony of the first degree, and the court, pursuant to division (F) of section 2929.13 of the Revised Code, shall impose as a mandatory prison term one of the prison terms prescribed for a felony of the first degree. 

(E)  As used in this section: 

(1) "Deadly weapon" and "dangerous ordnance" have the same meanings as in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code. 

(2) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code. 

(3) "Sexual conduct" has the same meaning as in section 2907.01 of the Revised Code, except that, as used in this section, it does not include the insertion of an instrument, apparatus, or other object that is not a part of the body into the vaginal or anal opening of another, unless the offender knew at the time of the insertion that the instrument, apparatus, or other object carried the offender's bodily fluid. 
 

HISTORY: 134 v H 511 (Eff 1-1-74); 139 v S 199 (Eff 7-1-83); 139 v H 269 (Eff 7-1-83); 140 v S 210 (Eff 7-1-83); 146 v S 2 (Eff 7-1-96); 146 v S 239 (Eff 9-6-96); 148 v S 142 (Eff 2-3-2000); 148 v H 100. Eff 3-23-2000; 151 v H 95, § 1, eff. 8-3-06.
 

Not analogous to former RC § 2903.11 (126 v 1039; 130 v 658), repealed 133 v H 84, § 2, eff 9-15-70.

 

Effect of Amendments

151 v H 95, effective August 3, 2006, in (E)(3), substituted "opening" for "cavity". 

 

19xx Committee Report or Comment.

1974 Committee Comment to H 511

This section prohibits knowingly causing serious physical harm to any person, or knowingly causing or attempting to cause physical harm to another by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance as defined in section 2923.11. 

The section replaces a number of special assault offenses while utilizing a different approach than that taken in former law. Previously, a number of statutes prohibited specific acts such as shooting, maiming, or cutting, or prohibited attacks on certain persons such as law enforcement officers. This section does not distinguish among persons and, except with respect to deadly weapons and dangerous ordnance, is not based on the means used to commit the offense. The relative gravity of this offense and of the three lesser assault offenses following it is graded according to three factors: the degree of culpability; the seriousness of the actual or potential harm involved; and whether or not a deadly weapon is used. 

This section is a lesser included offense to attempted murder, which is a felony of the first degree. See, section 2923.02. For example, if with purpose to kill, an offender shoots and wounds another, he may be charged with attempted murder. If it is not clear that the offender had a murderous purpose, his act may be an offense under this section. 

Felonious assault is a felony of the second degree.