The statute: This statute makes assault and battery a separately charged offense, with enhanced penalties, when the alleged victim is a “family or household member” — a spouse or former spouse; a person who resides or formerly resided in the same household; a relative by blood or marriage; a person with whom the defendant has a child in common; or a person in a dating or engagement relationship with the defendant.
What the Commonwealth must prove:
- The defendant committed an assault and battery as defined under c. 265, § 13A — an intentional, unjustified, non-consensual touching, or a reckless act causing bodily injury.
- The alleged victim was a family or household member of the defendant, as defined above, at the time of the offense.
Penalties: For a first offense, a house of correction for not more than 2½ years, or a fine of not more than $5,000, or both. For a subsequent offense, state prison for not more than 5 years or a house of correction for not more than 2½ years. A conviction (or a continuance without a finding with an admission) triggers federal and state prohibitions on possessing firearms, and courts commonly impose completion of a certified batterer’s intervention program as a condition of probation. A conviction also frequently accompanies a G.L. c. 209A restraining order with its own no-contact and vacate conditions.
In plain English: This is a domestic assault and battery charge. The touching required is the same as ordinary assault and battery — the difference is the relationship between the people involved, and the consequences are much more serious: jail exposure, loss of gun rights, batterer’s classes, and usually a restraining order on top.
How these cases are defended:
- Challenging whether the relationship legally qualifies as a family or household relationship.
- Self-defense and mutual-combat evidence, including injuries to the defendant and the 911 recordings.
- The complainant’s credibility — motives arising from custody, divorce, or housing disputes, and prior inconsistent statements.
- Cases frequently proceed even when the complainant recants or invokes a privilege; defending them requires litigating the Commonwealth’s substitute evidence (excited utterances, body-camera footage, medical records) and its admissibility.
- Protecting the client’s firearms rights, immigration status, and custody position when resolving the case.
This page is general information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice about any specific case. If you are charged with a crime, contact Davis Law Firm, P.C., 132 Lincoln Street, Suite 5L, Boston, MA 02111, (617) 297-4837.
