Teenager Taken into Custody for Assaulting a Teacher in Raritan
According to the patch.com, a fourteen year old boy was arrested earlier this month for an incident that occurred on school property. Based on the information that has been released, the juvenile was formally charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance as well as assault on a teacher. He was arrested at his home on March 2 and transported to the Middlesex County Youth Correctional Facility, which is located in North Brunswick. It is unclear at this point in time whether or not the juvenile was eventually released to the custody of this parents but if he was he will have to appear in the Somerset County Superior Court, Family Division to answer for the charges.
Need a Juvenile Lawyer for Aggravated Assault Charges in Somerset County?
Assault charges in New Jersey are broken down and classified based on either the injury caused or attempted to be caused and/or the “status” of the alleged victim. Based on the facts above, it appears that the juvenile would have normally been charged with simple assault based on the allegations. Meaning, that based on the juvenile’s conduct, it can be inferred that he either caused or attempted to cause bodily injury. This is the lowest level assault charge in New Jersey. It is considered a disorderly persons offense, also known as a misdemeanor. However, because the “victim” in this case was the juvenile’s teacher, the charges are elevated from simple assault to aggravated assault. Under NJSA 2C:12-1b5(d), if the individual commits what would otherwise be classified as a simple assault on a “school board member, school administrator, teacher, school bus driver or other employee of a public or non-public school” the charges will be elevated to a third degree aggravated assault, which is New Jersey’s version of a felony. This obviously makes an already bad situation much worse. For more information on the juvenile criminal justice system in Somerset County, please click the link.
Juvenile Criminal Defense Attorneys in Somerset New Jersey
If you or your child has been charged with a crime in Somerset or Hunterdon County and are scheduled to appear in juvenile court, the Keith Oliver Criminal Law can help. Although similar in some ways the juvenile criminal justice system does differ then the adult criminal justice system in many key aspects, of most importance is the overall goal of the system. For the most part, the juvenile criminal justice system is geared towards rehabilitation as opposed to the adult criminal justice system that is geared towards punishment. To set up a free initial consultation with one of our Somerset County juvenile criminal defense lawyers today please call our Bridgewater Office at 908-533-1064 or you can try contacting us online. We serve all of Somerset and Hunterdon County, including towns like Somerset, Bridgewater, Readington, Franklin, Hillsborough, Union, Bound Brook, Bedminster and Bernards. As always, our initial consultations are free of costs, so if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
