Sexual Battery in Virginia

Virginia Code Section 18.2-67.4(A)(i) provides that a person is guilty of sexual battery if he or she sexually abuses a complaining witness against that person’s will by force, threat, intimidation, or ruse. Thus, in a sexual battery case, the Commonwealth must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant committed an act with the intent to sexually molest, arouse or gratify either himself or the complaining witness by intentionally touching the complaining witness’s intimate parts or material directly covering such intimate parts, against the complaining witness’s will by force, threat, intimidation or ruse. The Virginia courts have held that the “force” required in sexual battery cases is force other than merely that force required to accomplish the unlawful touching. The courts also have held that “intimidation” requires that the complaining witness be put in fear of bodily harm by the defendant exercising such dominion and control over the complaining witness as to overcome his or her mind and overbear his or her will. Sexual battery is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

If you have been charged with sexual battery in Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, or Prince William County, Virginia, please contact Patel & Williams, PLLC, to discuss your case.