Aggravated Assault by Strangulation in Georgia: Sentence and Fallout

The penalty for aggravated assault by strangulation in Georgia is one to twenty years in prison. It is a felony under O.C.G.A. 16-5-21, and depending on who was assaulted and where, the minimum sentence can climb well above one year. A conviction also triggers a federal firearm ban, exposes non-citizens to deportation, and generally closes off Georgia’s First Offender option.

The Baseline Sentence

Under O.C.G.A. 16-5-21(a)(3), a person commits aggravated assault when they assault someone “with any object, device, or instrument which, when used offensively against a person, is likely to or actually does result in strangulation.”¹ The statute does not require the victim to lose consciousness or show visible injuries. Applying pressure to the neck in a way likely to restrict breathing or blood flow is enough.

The sentence range is one to twenty years.¹ Where a specific case lands inside that range depends on the severity of the assault, the defendant’s criminal history, and the surrounding circumstances. Georgia added strangulation as a specific form of aggravated assault through House Bill 911, signed by Governor Deal on April 24, 2014.²

When the Minimum Sentence Goes Up

O.C.G.A. 16-5-21 contains more than a dozen subsections that raise the sentencing floor based on the victim or the location of the assault.¹ The ones most likely to apply in a strangulation case:

Public safety officers on duty: five to twenty years when the assault involves use of the body alone. If a weapon other than a firearm is used, the mandatory minimum is three years for defendants at least 17. If a firearm is discharged, the minimum rises to ten years. A fine of at least $2,000 is added.
Victims age 65 or older: three to twenty years.
Assaults on public transit vehicles or in transit stations: three to twenty years.
School safety zones with a firearm: five to twenty years.
Aggravated assault with intent to rape a child under 14: twenty-five to fifty years, with life imprisonment or a split sentence with lifetime probation and electronic monitoring for a defendant with a prior sexual felony.

Mandatory Family Violence Intervention Program

When the strangulation occurs between household members (current or former spouses, parents of the same child, parents and children, stepparents and stepchildren, or others living in the same household), the court must order the defendant to participate in a family violence intervention program.³ The statute says the court “shall order” participation unless the judge states on the record why it would be inappropriate. These programs typically run 24 weeks, and the defendant pays the cost on top of any fines or restitution.

Bail Is Harder to Get

Pretrial release is more restricted here than for most felonies. If the defendant was on probation, parole, or bail for a prior aggravated assault, kidnapping, arson, burglary, or several other listed offenses, bail can only be set by a superior court judge.⁴

When the charge involves family violence, additional rules apply. The arrested person cannot be released until a law enforcement officer brings them before a judge. No standard bail schedule applies; the judge sets bail individually and attaches conditions that include no contact of any kind with the victim or the victim’s family or household members, no physical abuse or threats, and immediate enrollment in domestic violence counseling or substance abuse therapy.⁴ Violating any condition sends the defendant back into custody and produces new charges.

Federal Firearm Ban

Federal law permanently bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition.⁵ Because aggravated assault by strangulation carries up to twenty years, every conviction triggers this ban. A convicted person caught with a firearm faces up to ten years in federal prison, and the minimum rises to fifteen years for anyone with three or more prior violent felony or drug trafficking convictions.⁶

Immigration Consequences for Non-Citizens

Federal immigration law treats a “crime of violence” carrying a prison term of at least one year as an “aggravated felony.”⁷ A non-citizen convicted of an aggravated felony after admission to the United States is deportable, faces mandatory detention during removal proceedings, and is permanently barred from nearly all forms of relief, including asylum and cancellation of removal.⁸

A separate deportation ground applies when the assault involves a domestic relationship. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E), any non-citizen convicted of a “crime of domestic violence” is deportable regardless of whether the offense qualifies as an aggravated felony.⁸ A plea deal that reduces the charge does not always avoid this consequence, which is why non-citizen defendants need counsel familiar with both criminal and immigration law.

First Offender Treatment Is Usually Off the Table

Georgia’s First Offender Act lets some first-time defendants complete a sentence without a formal conviction on their record, but it excludes “serious violent felonies” from eligibility.⁹ Whether a particular strangulation charge qualifies depends on the circumstances, but the exclusion closes this door for many defendants under this statute. Aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer is separately and explicitly excluded from First Offender treatment.

Lasting Effects After the Sentence

A violent felony conviction reaches well past the prison term. Many employers run background checks and are reluctant to hire someone with a violent felony on record. Licensing boards in healthcare, education, law enforcement, and other regulated fields routinely deny or revoke licenses on this basis. Landlords screen for criminal history, making housing harder to secure. Georgia restores voting rights only after completion of the full sentence, including probation and parole, so the gap can last years.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 16-5-21 – Aggravated Assault
2
Georgia Commission on Family Violence. Strangulation Assault Training
3
Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-16 – Mandatory Participation; Cost for Participation
4
Justia. Georgia Code 17-6-1 – When Offenses Bailable; Procedure
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
6
Department of Justice. Quick Reference to Federal Firearms Laws
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1101 – Definitions
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
9
Justia. Georgia Code 42-8-60 – Probation Prior to Adjudication