Friday, June 3, 2016

Child Abuse / Child Neglect / Child Endangerment

What are the legal definitions of Child Abuse, Neglect or Endangerment?




Okay, so normally I try to keep this blog delightfully light, mildly funny, and (hopefully) informative, and this is a very sensitive topic. I don't want anything to think we're making light of child abuse, because we're absolutely not. No one should ever hurt or abuse a child for any reason. 

However, what we, as a Criminal Defense Law Firm realize, and wish to impress upon you, the reader, is that sometimes law enforcement and/or the district attorney can be a bit.... aggressive or ambitious with the application of existing laws where it doesn't necessarily apply. 

If you've been charged with one of these crimes, the odds are that you are not a hard-core monster who delights in maiming small children. Actually, it's far more likely that you're just a regular person who found yourself in an extraordinary situation and things spun rapidly out of control, someone called the police, someone had a visible injury, and, in order to 'handle' the call, the police decided to make an arrest, and the closest charge that fit the circumstances is Child Abuse, or Neglect, or Endangerment. 





With that said:




Sadly, our criminal prosecution too frequently goes full
Helen Lovejoy when it's simply not warranted.


Unfortunately, many of the laws we have carry titles that make them sound downright draconian, far more so than the actual circumstances that took place. For example, take this situation:

Divorced parents have a teenage daughter who is exhibiting some normal teenage behavior issues: she's defiant, disobedient; she doesn't want to live with mom because mom's house has "too many rules" and lives with dad instead. She wears clothes that are too revealing, she wears too much makeup...
Cake? or DEATH?
 ...and has various parts of her anatomy pierced. One day, dad comes home from work early, unannounced. He walks in to find his daughter and an unknown teenage boy together, in the process of getting drunk. As likely any father would, he becomes immediately enraged and confronts his daughter. She screams back at him and refuses to acknowledge that she's doing anything wrong and calls him a bunch of unpleasant names. He ultimately he ends up slapping her a few times. 

Should he have physically struck his daughter? No, probably not. 

But, does anyone really think that this situation called for the dad to be arrested on Felony Child Abuse charges? Really? Should dad really be labelled a Felon for the rest of his life because of this one instance? 

That's for you to decide, but I know that my parents definitely knocked some sense into me when I was little, and I certainly do not consider that to have been "ABUSE" by any stretch of the imagination. 

The police and the D.A., however, have decided to charge this man with a Felony for this exact situation. 

It's easy to pass judgement from the safety of your own home, or be brave behind your own keyboard, but put yourself in the same situation and think about how YOU would feel if it was you sitting in jail, possibly losing your job, dealing with life as an ex-felon in America, all for something as simple as slapping your defiant, drunken, promiscuous teenage daughter because you care about the mistakes she's making and the consequences they may have for her. 

But I digress.

Nevada defines CHILD ABUSE and/or NEGLECT and/or ENDANGERMENT thusly:

 NRS 200.508  Abuse, neglect or endangerment of child: Penalties; definitions.
      1.  A person who willfully causes a child who is less than 18 years of age to suffer unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering as a result of abuse or neglect or to be placed in a situation where the child may suffer physical pain or mental suffering as the result of abuse or neglect:
      (a) If substantial bodily or mental harm results to the child:
             (1) If the child is less than 14 years of age and the harm is the result of sexual abuse or exploitation, is guilty of a category A felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 15 years has been served; or
             (2) In all other such cases to which subparagraph (1) does not apply, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 20 years; or
      (b) If substantial bodily or mental harm does not result to the child:
             (1) If the person has not previously been convicted of a violation of this section or of a violation of the law of any other jurisdiction that prohibits the same or similar conduct, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years; or
             (2) If the person has previously been convicted of a violation of this section or of a violation of the law of any other jurisdiction that prohibits the same or similar conduct, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 15 years,
Ê unless a more severe penalty is prescribed by law for an act or omission that brings about the abuse or neglect.
      2.  A person who is responsible for the safety or welfare of a child and who permits or allows that child to suffer unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering as a result of abuse or neglect or to be placed in a situation where the child may suffer physical pain or mental suffering as the result of abuse or neglect:
      (a) If substantial bodily or mental harm results to the child:
             (1) If the child is less than 14 years of age and the harm is the result of sexual abuse or exploitation, is guilty of a category A felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 10 years has been served; or
             (2) In all other such cases to which subparagraph (1) does not apply, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 20 years; or
      (b) If substantial bodily or mental harm does not result to the child:
             (1) If the person has not previously been convicted of a violation of this section or of a violation of the law of any other jurisdiction that prohibits the same or similar conduct, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor; or
             (2) If the person has previously been convicted of a violation of this section or of a violation of the law of any other jurisdiction that prohibits the same or similar conduct, is guilty of a category C felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130,
Ê unless a more severe penalty is prescribed by law for an act or omission that brings about the abuse or neglect.
      3.  A person does not commit a violation of subsection 1 or 2 by virtue of the sole fact that the person delivers or allows the delivery of a child to a provider of emergency services pursuant to NRS 432B.630.
      4.  As used in this section:
      (a) “Abuse or neglect” means physical or mental injury of a nonaccidental nature, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child under the age of 18 years, as set forth in paragraph (d) and NRS 432B.070432B.100432B.110432B.140 and 432B.150, under circumstances which indicate that the child’s health or welfare is harmed or threatened with harm.
      (b) “Allow” means to do nothing to prevent or stop the abuse or neglect of a child in circumstances where the person knows or has reason to know that the child is abused or neglected.
      (c) “Permit” means permission that a reasonable person would not grant and which amounts to a neglect of responsibility attending the care, custody and control of a minor child.
      (d) “Physical injury” means:
             (1) Permanent or temporary disfigurement; or
             (2) Impairment of any bodily function or organ of the body.
      (e) “Substantial mental harm” means an injury to the intellectual or psychological capacity or the emotional condition of a child as evidenced by an observable and substantial impairment of the ability of the child to function within his or her normal range of performance or behavior. 


If you've been accused of a crime against a child, give Louis Schneider a call at 702-435-2121 to start building your defense right away!

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