Legal Definitions - assaultee

An assaultee is the individual who is the target or victim of an assault. In legal terms, an assault typically refers to an intentional act that causes another person to reasonably apprehend imminent harmful or offensive contact, even if no physical contact actually occurs.

Here are some examples illustrating the term:

• Example 1: During a heated argument, a person raises their fist and lunges towards another individual, stopping just short of making contact, while shouting threats. The individual who was lunged at and feared being struck is the assaultee, as they reasonably apprehended imminent physical harm.

• Example 2: A disgruntled patron in a restaurant picks up a plate and throws it in the direction of a waiter, but the plate misses the waiter and shatters against a wall. The waiter is the assaultee because the patron's intentional act caused the waiter to reasonably fear being hit by the thrown object, even though no physical contact occurred.

• Example 3: A person is cornered in a hallway by an aggressive individual who blocks their exit and makes menacing gestures, causing the person to genuinely believe they are about to be physically attacked. The person who feels trapped and threatened is the assaultee, as they experienced a reasonable apprehension of immediate harmful contact.