Did I assault my ex girlfriend?

[MrBubbles]

luigiman5555 said:

MrBubbles said:
yes, that was assault. based on your initial account, a reasonable person would have realized that touching her like that was unwanted. you also sound like youve been stalking her.

She accused me of civil assault and civil battery but I did nothing bad. I did not intend to do anything bad. Not even minimal intent. All I did was hug her but I did stop after realizing she really wanted me to. I honestly thought that she would've hugged me back eventually and comfort me.

Civil assault: "An intentional act which causes a reasonable and imminent apprehension of a harmful or offensive contact which is unconsented."
Civil battery: "An intentional act which causes harmful or offensive contact which is unconsented."
Proof: http://bikerlawblog.com/2006/10/09/civil-assault-and-battery-in-plain-langu/?doing_wp_cron=1362348609.9029219150543212890625

#1. It only would've been unconsented had I persisted after realizing you really wanted me to stop.
#2. There was no harmful or offensive contact nor was there a reasonable and imminent apprehension of harmful or offensive contact.
#3. Even if I did all of the above, it was not intentional and that's another valid defense.
Proof: http://www.shouselaw.com/nevada/battery-defenses.html

How did I assault her? I may have chosen an unreasonable tactic that I thought would've worked but I didn't assault her. I suppose I did stalk her by following her but she did that to me too a long time ago. I live in Vancouver.

your action was intentional.  you didnt just accidentally bump into her while walking on the street.  you deliberately put your hands on her.   

you chased her down, you got in her way, you tried to stop her with your body, then you put your hands on her.    by her not stopping it was clear indication she would not consent to being touched by you.     regardless of what you wanted to do...

a reasonable person would look upon this and realize that she didnt want to be touched.

 

although you would be technically guilty of assaulting her... i dont see how exactly she would have anything to gain from a civil case.  it wasnt severe, you didnt cause her any suffering other than momentary discomfort, providing youve left her alone and not harassed her since...  there does not seem to be grounds for a civil case.  

in the likelihood of a criminal case i would expect minimal punishment, if it even makes it that far.  the prosecutor/police could just drop the matter if you agree to stay away from her and not have any contact with her anymore (which is my advice anyways).

 

to sum up: you are technically guilty of a crime.  you likely wont suffer because of it.  just leave the psycho alone...  :)