In Massachusetts, the authority to bring a criminal prosecution comes from the General Laws, which are enacted by the legislature. The Appeals Court and Supreme Judicial Court further refine and interpret these laws, but the basic elements of the crimes, and their penalties, are determined by the legislature and written in the statutes. See Resources for references to the specific sections of the laws involved. The following topics describe some of the most common crimes committed against individuals.
In Massachusetts, a person who causes the death of another may be charged with first or second degree murder or manslaughter, depending on the specific conduct and the level of criminal intent.
Murder: Murder is the intentional killing of another with malice -- that is, with hatred, anger, or revenge. First-degree murder is murder committed with deliberate premeditation, or extreme atrocity or cruelty, or during the commission of a crime punishable by life imprisonment. All other murder is second-degree murder.
Manslaughter: Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of another without malice. Voluntary manslaughter is the intentional killing of another that occurs suddenly as the result of some great provocation. Involuntary manslaughter is an act committed during the commission of a misdemeanor or other crime that is not likely to endanger life; or an act constituting reckless conduct.
An assault and battery is, simply stated, an unwanted touching. It includes everything from a push to a slap to punching with fists. It also includes biting and can include spitting. A number of other crimes are variations on simple assault and battery and have more serious penalties:
Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon: A person who hits another person with an object may be guilty of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. A “dangerous weapon” can be an item typically thought of as dangerous, such as a gun or a knife, but it can also be an ordinary object used in a dangerous manner, such as a cigarette or a boot. The punishment is greater than for a simple assault and battery.
Assault by Means of a Dangerous Weapon: A person who threatens, but doesn’t actually touch, another person with a dangerous weapon, like waving a knife or a bat at another person, may be guilty of assault by means of a dangerous weapon. A “dangerous weapon” can be an item typically thought of as dangerous, such as a gun or a knife, but it can also be an ordinary object used in a dangerous manner, such as a baseball bat or tire iron.
Assault and Battery on Vulnerable Victims: The legislature has established enhanced penalties for assault and battery crimes on pregnant women, persons with a restraining order against the offender, mentally retarded persons, elders, persons with disabilities, and children. There are also enhanced penalties for assault and battery on members of racial, ethnic and other minorities if the crime is motivated by hate.
Assault and Battery Causing Serious Bodily Injury: The legislature has also provided a higher penalty for any assault and battery resulting in serious bodily injury. “Serious bodily injury” means bodily injury that results in a permanent disfigurement, loss or impairment of a bodily function, limb or organ, or a substantial risk of death.
Mayhem: Mayhem involves an assault and battery on a person that deliberately causes mutilation or disfigurement. The penalty for mayhem is much more severe than for a simple assault and battery.
Threats: A person who threatens to commit bodil harm may be punished by up to six months in jail.
Kidnapping is the forcible confinement of another person against his will. This can include preventing someone from leaving their home or preventing them from getting out of a car.
This section describes sexual crimes primarily against adults. Sexual crimes against children are described in the Child Abuse section.
Rape: Rape is a sexual penetration by force or threat of force without the victim’s consent. It can include penetration of the labia, vagina, anus or mouth and penetration by a penis, a finger or an object. Evidence that the victim “fought back” is not required to prove that a rape occurred, and there need not be serious physical injury. The victim or offender can be either male or femaleMost rapes involve victims and offenders who know each other as acquaintances, intimate partners, or spouses.
Aggravated Rape: Aggravated rape, which carries a higher penalty than rape, is rape committed with the use of a weapon, rape that causes serious bodily injury, rape committed by two or more people acting together (even if just one commits the sexual act), and rape committed while possessing a firearm or during the course of another crime, such as assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, robbery, kidnapping, burglary.
Indecent Assault and Battery on a Person Over Fourteen: An indecent assault and battery is a deliberate nonconsensual sexual touching of another’s genitals, breasts, buttocks or inner thighs. The victim of this crime is 14 years old or over.
Assault with Intent to Rape: A person who attacks another with intent to commit a rape is guilty of assault with intent to rape. Proof of assault with intent to commit rape is generally shown by some act toward the commission of arape. Examples include torn clothing or undergarments of the victim, attacker’s statements of intent to rape the victim, and physical injuries to the victim.
Rape Shield Law: An important statute for rape victims to know about is the Massachusetts Rape Shield law. Under this law, a victim’s sexual history may generally not be raised at a rape trial. Some prior sexual conduct of the victim may be admissible if it involved the defendant, would explain a physical condition of the victim, or would demonstrate the victim’s bias against the defendant.
The legislature has enacted a number of laws specifically focused on the protection of children. This section describes crimes typically charged in child abuse cases, and discusses the mandatory child abuse reporting laws.
Assault and Battery on a Child: This crime requires contact with a child under fourteen (14) years old that causes bodily injury. Bodily injury can include burns, broken bones, injury to any internal organ, or repeated bruising. There are enhanced penalties for an assault and battery on a child that results in a substantial bodily injury or risk of death.
Negligent Caretaking: Caretakers may also be punished for recklessly permitting bodily injury to happen to a child or permitting another to commit an assault and battery on a child causing bodily injury.
Rape of a Child: There are two different types of rape involving children: forcible rape and “statutory” rape.
Forcible rape of a child: Rape of a child is the same as rape of an adult, except that this statute applies when the victim is under the age of sixteen. Rape is nonconsensual sexual penetration by force or threat of force. It includes sexual penetration of the mouth, anus, labia or vagina, and penetration by a penis, a finger or an object. Evidence that the victim “fought back” is not required. The victim or offender can be either male or female.
Statutory rape: Statutory rape is any sexual penetration of a child under the age of sixteen, even if the child consents. This law is based on the belief that children under 16 years of age are not capable of consenting to sexual penetration under any circumstances. As discussed above, sexual penetration can include sexual intercourse, oral sex, digital (finger) penetration, and anal penetration. The victim can be a girl or a boy.
Assault with intent to rape a child: Assault with intent to rape a child is the same as assault with intent to rape an adult, with the additional requirement that the victim be under sixteen (16) years old. Proof of assault with intent to commit rape is generally shown by some act toward the commission of a rape. Examples include torn clothing or undergarments of the victim, attacker’s statements of intent to rape the victim, physical injuries to the victim.
Indecent Assault and Battery on a Child Under 14: An indecent assault and battery requires a deliberate touching of the breasts, buttocks, genitals or inner thighs. If the child is under fourteen (14) years old, consent is not an issue. The law considers a child under 14 years of age incapable of consenting to an indecent touching. If the child is fourteen or over, see Rape and Sexual Assault.
Victim under sixteen: The crime of kidnapping a child under sixteen (16) is the forcible or secret confinement of a child under the age of sixteen (16) against her/his will. It does not apply to the parent of a child.
Custodial kidnapping: Custodial kidnapping can occur whenever one parent of a child under eighteen (18) years old takes that child away from the other parent, intending to keep the child away permanently, without the permission of the court.
Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting
Massachusetts law requires certain professionals, such as doctors, police officers, day care workers, social workers, clergy, and teachers, to notify the Department of Social Services (DSS) when they suspect that a child is or has been abused or neglected. This includes sexual, physical, emotional abuse and neglect. Anyone can notify DSS if they suspect that a child is being abused or neglected. However, the professionals listed above are required to report to DSS.
When a report is made, the Department of Social Services (DSS) conducts an investigation. DSS is required to refer cases of sexual abuse, serious physical abuse, and child deaths to the District Attorney’s Office and police for criminal investigation as well. Typically, the DSS and criminal investigations of sexual and serious physical abuse are coordinated to prevent unnecessary interviews of the child. DSS will also assign a social worker to develop a service plan for the child and the family to provide the support, counseling and social services the child and family may need. The parent or guardian may also be required to fulfill certain requirements to ensure the child’s health, safety, and emotional well-being.
The essence of these crimes is a pattern of harassment of a particular person. These crimes frequently occur in domestic violence situations, but the law does not require that there be any relationship between the offender and the victim. For further discussion of domestic violence crimes, click on Domestic Violence.
Stalking: Stalking occurs when someone deliberately engages in a pattern of conduct over a period of time directed at the victim that causes substantial emotional distress. The law requires at least three separate incidents. At least one of those incidents must include a threat of harm. There is a more severe penalty for stalking in violation of a restraining order.
Types of conduct that may constitute stalking include phone calls, letters, e-mails, faxes, voicemail messages, and purposely showing up in the victim’s presence. Stalking in violation of restraining order requires that the three incidents must have occurred after the restraining order was in effect and the offender had notice of the order.
Criminal Harassment: Criminal harassment is the same as stalking; however, there is no requirement for any of the three incidents to involve a threat. There is a more severe penalty for a second offense.
Power and Control: Domestic violence is a pattern of behavior used by one individual to maintain power and control over another, and typically refers to a family or intimate partner relationship. Behavior may include emotional abuse ( name-calling, humiliation, ); isolation (limiting the partner’s activities and outside relationships ); financial abuse (preventing the partner from working or controlling all the money); threats and intimidation (creating fear of physical harm, including displaying weapons, damaging property or hurting pets); and physical violence, including forced sexual relations.
Domestic violence typically begins with non-violent behaviors and escalates over time to increasingly threatening and physically violent behaviors as the victim seeks to pull away from the relationship or assert her or his independence. Once the abuse becomes physical, it often becomes increasingly violent over time, starting from a slap or a shove and escalating to severe beatings or injuries using weapons, and potentially leading to homicide.
Domestic violence happens in heterosexual and same-sex relationships, across all socioeconomic groups, and among all races, ethnicities and religions. In heterosexual relationships, the abuser is almost always the man, but can also be the woman.
The Cycle of Violence: The cycle of violence begins with the tension-building phase, in which tension mounts and culminates in an incident of violence. The abuser may, at this point, be arrested or the victim may seek a restraining order. Often, immediately after the violent episode, the abuser is remorseful and promises that no further violence will occur. It is during this “honeymoon” phase that an abused partner may come to forgive the abuser, believe that it will never happen again, and continue the relationship. This phase may then flow into another tension-building phase, culminating in an even more violent event and increasing the risk to the abused partner. Without successful intervention by police, victim advocates, and/or counselors, this cycle continues and the violence escalates.
Domestic Violence Crimes:
Although emotional and psychological abuse may have more long-lasting effects than physical abuse, only physical abuse or threatened physical abuse is considered a crime, unless the psychological or emotional abuse amounts to stalking or criminal harassment. Typical crimes charged in domestic violence cases include: Assault and Battery in all its variations, Rape and Sexual Assault, Kidnapping, Stalking and Criminal Harassment, Breaking and Entering and Other Property and Theft Crimes. These crimes are described throughout this section of Common Crimes. In addition, domestic violence offenders may be charged with the following crimes
Violation of a Restraining Order: Most restraining orders require that the defendant stop abusing the victim,stay away from the victim, stop contacting the victim, and move out of the shared home if necessary. “Contact” can include in-person meetings, phone calls, e-mails, letters, faxes, birthday cards, and bouquets of flowers. Offenders are also forbidden from making indirect contact such as asking a third person to deliver a message or making a three-way telephone call. A violation of a restraining order is a crime if the offender had notice of the order. Violators may be punished by up to 2 1/2 years in jail.For further discussion of restraining orders and how to get them, click on Restraining Orders.
Assault and Battery on a Person with a Restraining Order: As discussed in Assault and Battery, this crime is an assault and battery with a more severe penalty when the victim has a restraining order against the offender.
Assault and Battery on a Pregnant Woman: As discussed in Assault and Battery, this crime, which is frequently committed in domestic violence situations, is an assault and battery that carries a more severe penalty when the victim is pregnant.
Teen Dating Violence:
Domestic violence between young people is as common as it is among adults. A teenager who assaults his or her partner may be charged with the same crimes as an adult, even if he is the same age as the victim. In addition, the offender may be charged with the special child abuse crimes (indecent assault and battery on a child under fourteen, assault and battery on a child, and rape of a child). For further discussion of crimes against children, click on Child Abuse.
Breaking and Entering and Other Property and Theft Crimes
Breaking and Entering: There are a number of laws punishing break-ins of homes and vehicles. The penalties are highest for break-ins that occur during the night and those in which people are injured or threatened. Generally, “breaking and entering” crimes are ones in which the defendant intends to commit a separate crime once inside, such as stealing, rape, or stalking.
Robbery: Robbery is the taking of money or property from another person, by force or threat of force.
Larceny: Larceny is the taking of property with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of that property. For example, someone who returns a car two hours later, having taken it for a joy ride, is generally not guilty of larceny.The legislature has passed a number of different larceny statutes with penalties that vary based on the value of the object stolen.
Receiving Stolen Property: It is a crime to receive property that you know has been stolen.
Destruction of property: It is a crime to destroy another's property. The punishment for this crime depends on the value of the object destroyed and whether the destruction was malicious or simply reckless.
In addition to the general assault crimes, the legislature has enacted a law that specifically prohibits hate crimes
Assault or Battery for Purposes of Intimidation: A person who commits an assault or battery upon a person or damages the property of a person with the intent to intimidate such person because of that person’s race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or disability is guilty of this crime. The punishment can be greater than the penalty for simple assault and battery if the victim suffers physical injury.
Violations of Constitutional Rights: A person who, by force, injures, intimidates, interferes, or threatens any other person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege guaranteed by the Constitution or laws of the Commonwealth or the United States commits a crime. The penalty can be greater if the victim suffers physical injury.
The information in this website does not constitute legal advice. Merely viewing the site is not intended to establish an attorney-client relationship. You should consult an attorney to fully understand your rights. For a preliminary case evaluation at no cost, please click here.
