South Carolina's Assault-and-Battery Laws

Assault and battery charges in South Carolina can lead to a misdemeanor or felony conviction. A person commits assault and battery by unlawfully injuring another or by attempting or threatening to do so. The penalty level depends on the circumstances of the offense and the defendant's intent. Another form of assault and battery involves unwanted sexual touching.

Read on to learn how South Carolina defines and punishes assault-and-battery crimes.

What Is Assault and Battery in South Carolina?

South Carolina defines "assault and battery" to include acts where a person unlawfully injures another or attempts or threatens to injure another and has the ability to do so. Because attempt and threats count as assault, a person can face criminal charges even if the victim isn't injured. However, causing injuries can result in harsher charges.

South Carolina also includes nonconsensual sexual contact as assault and battery. This crime occurs when a person unlawfully touches another's private parts (genitals, buttocks, or female breasts) under or over clothing.

Degrees of Assault and Battery

South Carolina divides assault and battery into four different degrees: first- through third-degrees and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature (ABHAN). Third-degree assault and battery carries the least severe penalties. From there, the penalties increase to second-degree and then first-degree, and the most severe penalties fall under ABHAN.

Assault-and-Battery Definitions

The severity of the charges or penalties depends, in part, on the level or risk of harm inflicted or intended. Below are definitions to aid in distinguishing South Carolina's different assault-and-battery crimes.

Bodily injury is any physical pain, illness, or impairment of a physical condition, such as bruises, cuts, sprains, or abrasions.

Moderate bodily injuries include injuries resulting in a prolonged loss of consciousness, temporary or moderate disfigurement, temporary loss of a body function, or medical treatment requiring anesthesia. Some examples include fractures, dislocations, lacerations requiring stitches, severe bruising and swelling (like an eye swollen shut), or head injuries resulting in temporary blurred vision or headaches.

Great bodily injury means an injury that causes a substantial risk of death, serious and permanent disfigurement, or prolonged impairment or loss of a body function. Examples could be serious gunshot or stab wounds, internal damage to organs, loss of an eye or finger, or a severe cut to the face leaving a large scar.

Examples of Assault and Battery Crimes

Examples of assault and battery include hitting, kicking, slapping, or shoving another. It can also include shooting or stabbing a person. Threats and attempts to do any of these acts are also assault-and-battery crimes. Violent shaking, twisting an arm, raising a clenched fist, and throwing a vase at another are more examples. Unlawfully grabbing a women's breasts or another's buttocks would also count.

(S.C. Code § 16-3-600 (2024).)

Assault and Battery in the Third Degree in South Carolina

A person commits third-degree assault and battery by:

• unlawfully injuring another
• attempting to injure another, or
• threatening to injure another.

Attempts and threats are only crimes if the aggressor had the ability to cause the intended harm. Also, these acts are only crimes when done unlawfully. So, if you trip and knock someone over, it wouldn't be assault and battery even if the person is injured.

Third-degree assault and battery carries misdemeanor penalties. The maximum sentence is 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

(S.C. Code § 16-3-600 (2024).)

Assault and Battery in the Second Degree in South Carolina

Assault and battery increases to second-degree charges if the assault results or could have resulted in moderate bodily injuries. For example, a defendant who shoves another down a set of concrete stairs could face second-degree charges if the victim suffers a fracture or miraculously avoids such injuries. Even threatening to push someone down concrete stairs could result in second-degree charges.

It's also a second-degree offense to touch another's private parts, under or over clothing, without consent. No physical injuries are required.

Assault and battery of the second degree carries penalties of up to three years' imprisonment and a $2,500 fine.

(S.C. Code § 16-3-600 (2024); State v. Robinson, 878 S.E.2d 8 (S.C. App. 2022).)

Assault and Battery in the First Degree in South Carolina

First-degree assault and battery is a felony offense in South Carolina. A person commits this assault level by:

• unlawfully injuring another, or attempting or threatening harm, during the commission of a robbery, burglary, theft, or kidnapping
• attempting or threatening to harm another by means likely to result in great bodily injury or death, or
• touching another's private parts (under or over clothing) without consent and with lewd and lascivious intent.

For example, firing shots into an occupied house could result in first-degree charges even if no one suffers harm. Injuring someone who interrupts a burglary or theft is another example. Also, a court upheld a first-degree assault and battery conviction where a defendant groped a victim's breasts, pinned her to the wall, and tried to remove her shorts.

Assault and battery in the first degree carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

(S.C. Code § 16-3-600 (2024); State v. Robinson, 878 S.E.2d 8 (S.C. App. 2022).)

Assault and Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature (ABHAN) in South Carolina

South Carolina reserves the harshest penalties for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. A person commits ABHAN by:

• unlawfully causing great bodily injuries to another, or
• unlawfully injuring another in a manner likely to cause death or great bodily injuries.

The classic ABHAN examples are serious gunshot or stab wounds. But ABHAN charges are also possible when a victim suffers less serious injuries. Using the example above, a defendant firing a gun into a home could be charged with ABHAN, rather than first-degree, if a victim suffered any harm—because the act of firing a gun into an occupied home was likely to cause great bodily injuries.

A person convicted of ABHAN faces up to 20 years in prison.

(S.C. Code § 16-3-600 (2024).)

Enhanced or Additional Penalties for Assault and Battery in South Carolina

South Carolina law imposes enhanced or additional penalties when assault and battery involves domestic violence, a hate crime, a mob, or a deadly weapon.

Domestic violence. Separate—and tougher—penalties apply to assault and battery against a household member. Check out our article on South Carolina's Domestic Violence Laws to learn more.

Hate crimes. Assaulting or intimidating someone based on their political views or exercise of Constitutional rights is a misdemeanor. A person can face an additional conviction and up to two years of jail time. (S.C. Code § 16-17-560 (2024).)

Assault by mob. Assault by mob (2 or more persons) can result in a separate felony or misdemeanor conviction depending on the level of harm inflicted. Causing bodily harm results in a misdemeanor conviction, punishable by a year in jail. However, acts of violence that result in serious bodily injury carry a minimum 3-year sentence and a maximum 25-year sentence. If death results, the mandatory minimum sentence is 30 years. (S.C. Code § 16-3-210 (2024).)

Deadly weapon. Assault and battery committed with a deadly weapon carried or concealed on the offender results in a misdemeanor punishment of 3 to 12 months of additional jail time. (S.C. Code § 16-3-610 (2024).)

Defenses to Assault-and-Battery Charges in South Carolina

A person facing assault-and-battery charges can fight the charges in several ways, including by poking holes in the prosecution's case or by raising an affirmative defense.

Self-defense. A defendant might claim self-defense if the alleged victim started the altercation or was about to and the defendant reasonably feared death or serious bodily injury. South Carolina law presumes reasonable fear on the defendant's part if the alleged victim broke into or attempted to break into the defendant's home. (State v. Davis, 317 S.E.2d 452 (S.C. 1984); S.C. Code § 16-11-440 (2024).)

Reasonable doubt. The defense might also try to poke holes in the prosecution's case by arguing the prosecution failed to prove the required intent or injuries. In this case, the defense might be able to get the charges dismissed or reduced.

Getting Legal Advice and Representation

If you're charged with assault and battery, talk to a South Carolina criminal defense attorney. A lawyer can help you understand the charges, guide you through the criminal legal process, and defend your rights.