If your child is being threatened at school, then you could file a complaint with the school and the police. There are two kinds of assault. Simple assault is defined as a threat of injury without a weapon. An attempt to injure without a weapon can also be considered simple assault.

Aggravated assault is more serious. An attack that is meant to cause severe injury is considered aggravated assault whether the injury actually occurred or not. An attack with any sort of weapon is considered aggravated assault. If your child is threatened with a weapon, or if there is a threat of serious injury with or without a weapon, it may be considered aggravated assault.

Victims of aggravated assault are people who felt that they actually faced death. This feeling and trauma can come from a threat or an actual assault. Sometimes there is an assault with no actual injury, but the victim felt that they were possibly going to be killed.
Support groups are extremely helpful for juveniles going through this kind of trauma. It is up to the victim whether or not he or she wants to press charges.

Nearly twenty percent of assaults each year have juvenile victims. It is a growing problem and isn’t one to be taken lightly. In the cases of juvenile victims, they nearly always know who assaulted them. They are sometimes hesitant to press charges for fear of being assaulted again, embarrassed, or ridiculed by their peers. Sometimes it is a simple fear of public speaking that can let an assailant go free. If you or someone that you know is assaulted or threatened, the best way to ensure that the behavior doesn’t continue or repeat is to report it to local law enforcement.

If you’re on the other end of the spectrum and your child has made a threat to another student, then it is recommended that you get professional advice from a lawyer. A seemingly mindless threat can land your child in real trouble. Teach your children that it is never okay to threaten or get into a fight. The legal system is coming down hard on youthful offenders to try and stop them from progressing into extremely dangerous adults. If your child is getting into fights at school, then they could end up in jail. This is a matter that children often blow off as not important, or they believe that they won’t get caught or it just won’t happen to them. Juveniles in general have an invincible attitude when it comes to the legal system, but they have no way of understanding what they’re actually up against.

Keep your child informed and show them examples of children just like them that have been convicted of serious assault crimes for a seemingly innocent schoolyard fight. There are plenty of examples online of kids who have thrown one punch and ended up convicted of assault. There are also a lot of juveniles arrested that only made verbal threats. Keep your children safe. If you need legal advice in Utah, call the Salt Lake City Court Reporters or Court Reporters Utah at Thacker + Co.