Any adult who looks after a child has a legal obligation to make sure that child is kept out of harm’s way. They may be accused of child endangerment if they fail to shield the child. These can be intricate laws that ultimately depend on one person’s viewpoint over another. To learn more about these intricate issues, keep reading. For a free legal consultation if you have been charged with this offense against children or another, call Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088.
What constitutes child endangerment?
The fact that child endangerment charges can be interpreted very broadly and that many different activities might result in accusations and convictions is one of the challenging parts of being accused of it.
The majority of sensible adults would concur that doing things like having a youngster assist in drug production or operating a vehicle while intoxicated puts children in danger. A person might, however, be accused of child endangerment for merely leaving a youngster at home alone while they are aware that the child is old enough – but the court may disagree.
Actual and potential injury
It is not necessary that a child was really hurt for the current laws to be enforced; they are intended to punish actions that potentially endanger children. Kid endangerment can be defined as the act of putting a child at danger of losing their life, morals, mental stability, physical health, or welfare. Of course, if the child was hurt, it may also be charged, but this is not a prerequisite.
Irrelevance of intent
The prosecution does not have to show that you intended to harm the child in order for you to be found guilty of endangering children. The “reasonable person” criteria is what the courts apply. Even if you did not know it was harmful or did not consider it to be dangerous, you can still be found guilty of child endangerment if you placed a kid in a situation that the courts judge a reasonable person would have recognized was dangerous.
It takes more than a mistake to accuse someone of endangering children
You must have done more than just make a mistake or act poorly in order to be found legally guilty of child endangerment. You must be able to prove that you put a child in a circumstance where it was highly likely that they would suffer injury. For instance, it is not always child endangerment when a parent unintentionally leaves their child in a locked automobile.
Call Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 to get a free legal consultation if you have been charged with or accused of endangering children. We are prepared to explain your options to you.
