COMMON, DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL ASSAULT
Assault Lawyer in Penticton
Julian Van Der Walle is the assault lawyer Penticton clients call when a charge keeps them out of their own home or away from their family before anything has been proven. He defends the charge and works to change release conditions that don’t make sense.
Just charged with assault in Penticton?
Follow every release condition exactly. A breach is a new charge.
No contact means none, even by text, until Julian gets it varied.
Call early so Julian can review your conditions before they cause damage.
Defence only since 2010
Criminal defence is all Julian Van Der Walle has done since his call to the bar.
Acquittals won
Julian has won serious assault and sexual assault trials.
100+ trials run
In BC and Alberta courts.
Confidential consult
The charge and the conditions are two different problems
Most people charged with assault in Penticton are released with conditions. No contact with the complainant, stay away from a home or workplace, sometimes no alcohol. Those conditions apply for months while the case moves through Penticton Provincial Court.
Julian Van Der Walle handles both at once. As a Penticton assault lawyer he builds the defence to the charge, and he applies to vary unworkable conditions, by agreement with Crown or through the court, so you can get back to your life.
The charge
Section 265 defines assault broadly, so Julian examines the facts and the context of what happened in detail.
Your release conditions
They decide where you live and who you see while the case is open. Julian reviews them on the first call.
Assault charges Julian defends in Penticton
The seriousness climbs with the injury, the weapon and the relationship.
Common assault
Section 266. Pushing, grabbing or a threatening gesture. Julian often resolves these without a record.
Weapon or bodily harm
Section 267. Any object can count as a weapon and bodily harm can be minor, so Julian tests both.
Domestic assault
Any assault involving a partner or family member, with stricter conditions that Julian works to vary.
Sexual assault
Section 271 and up. The most serious files, and the ones Julian prepares most carefully.
Section 266 common assault, explained
Hybrid
Crown chooses summary or indictable, which changes the penalty range
5 years
maximum if Crown proceeds by indictment
2 years less a day
maximum on summary conviction
Peace bond
a common way a first section 266 charge ends with no record
Most Penticton common assault charges proceed summarily, and an assault lawyer Penticton Crown knows can often negotiate a result well short of those maximums.
Defences that come up again and again
Many Penticton assault cases start downtown on a weekend night, at a party by the lake, or at home after an argument. Witnesses have often been drinking, accounts conflict and nobody saw the whole thing, and Julian Van Der Walle tests every one of those weak points.
Julian reviews every statement, 911 call and piece of video looking for where the Crown’s version doesn’t hold together. He has won acquittals in serious assault and sexual assault trials, and some are in Julian’s past wins.
Self defence
Was the force a reasonable response to a threat?
Consent
In some fights both people agreed to it.
Credibility
Do the witness accounts actually line up?
Identity
Can the Crown prove you were the one involved?
Domestic assault charges in Penticton
In BC, police send a report to Crown counsel whenever there’s evidence of an assault in a relationship, and the BC Prosecution Service decides whether to approve a charge. Even if the complainant doesn’t want the case to go ahead, it often does at the Penticton courthouse.
The no-contact conditions in these files are usually the first thing Julian works on. If the complainant wants contact too, Julian can apply for a variation. Going home before the condition changes is a new charge, so don’t. More answers are on the Penticton criminal law questions page.
Peace bond option
For many first time assault charges, Julian negotiates a section 810 peace bond that ends the case with no criminal record.
How an assault case moves with Julian
01
Free consultation
Julian reviews the charge, your conditions and what happened, in confidence.
02
Conditions first
Julian applies to vary anything unworkable.
03
Disclosure review
Julian examines statements, 911 audio, video and medical records.
04
Resolution or trial
A withdrawal, peace bond, discharge or trial in Penticton.
Assault charge questions
Julian Van Der Walle answers common questions after an assault charge in Penticton.
The complainant wants the charge dropped. Will it go away?
Not automatically. In BC the decision belongs to Crown counsel, not the complainant. Their wishes can matter, but Crown often proceeds anyway in domestic files, and Julian speaks to Crown about where the case should go.
Can I go home while a domestic assault charge is open?
Not if your conditions bar you from the home. You need the condition varied first, by agreement with Crown or by a court application, and Julian handles that.
Is a peace bond a criminal record?
No. A peace bond is a court order to keep the peace and follow conditions, usually for a year. It isn’t a conviction, which is why Julian often pushes for one on a first charge.
What is the punishment for section 266 assault?
It depends on how Crown proceeds. By indictment the maximum is 5 years, and on summary conviction it is 2 years less a day. First offenders rarely get anywhere near those numbers, and many get a discharge or peace bond.
Need an assault lawyer in Penticton?
Call Julian Van Der Walle before your first court date so your conditions and your defence get looked at early. The consultation is free.
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Call 1.866.706.8857
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