Child Endangerment Charged as a California Domestic Violence Crime

California is very strict with its child abuse offenders and holds people who place their children in dangerous situations accountable in the same manner as it does people who directly abuse their children. Child endangerment may be charged as a California domestic violence crime under one of two theories. In the first instance, a child endangerment charge may be filed when a child is a witness to domestic abuse between his or her parents. It is defined as the abuse that a child suffers while witnessing such an event. In the second instance, a child endangerment charge may be filed when one's child is placed in a situation where he or she is likely to suffer a serious injury or death, regardless of whether the child actually suffers such an injury, when one permits or causes his or her child to be injured, or when once causes or permits his or her child to be in a situation where the child's body or health may be endangered. This second area of prosecution has no bearing on whether domestic abuse was occurring in the home, but rather will be treated as a crime of domestic violence simply because the perpetrator was a parent of the child.

Child endangerment manifests itself in a number of ways and may be caused by physical abuse, emotional abuse or neglect. In effect, it is basically any reckless or negligent behavior on the part of a parent that places his or her child's well being in jeopardy. Child endangerment is an escalating problem, and the legislature is quick to respond as they continue to update laws, not only to punish offenders with stricter penalties, but to crack down on parents by defining more ways to hold them criminally responsible for their negligent and/or reckless behavior.

Some of the most commonly prosecuted D.V. child endangerment charges include parents driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol with their children in the car, parents getting drunk or high while their children are home with no additional supervision, parents entrusting their children to unfit caregivers, parents exposing their children to "meth labs" or other places that engage in illegal or "adult only" activities, parents leaving their children who are too young to care for themselves home with no adult supervision, and parents who expose their children to pornography, sexual activity, and unsecured firearms.

An individual facing child endangerment charges will almost always face the following penalties and, depending on whether an additional intimate partner abuse crime is filed, may face even more. If convicted of child endangerment as a misdemeanor, the defendant faces up to one year in jail, and if convicted of the charge as a felony, the defendant faces two, four or six years in the state prison. In addition to jail or prison time, if a convicted offender is placed on probation, he or she will be on probation for at least four years, will have a criminal protective order issued against him or her to protect his or her child from further abuse, will be required to successfully complete at least one year in a child abuser's treatment counseling program and, if drugs or alcohol were involved in the alleged offense, the defendant will also be required to abstain from using alcohol or drugs while on probation, will be subject to random testing and may additionally be required to complete a drug and/or alcohol dependency program.

The experienced criminal defense lawyers at the Kavinoky Law Firm specialize in California domestic violence crimes and in successfully defending those individuals charged with child-related offenses. They pride themselves on keeping current in this special area of the law and on the many evidentiary issues and defenses that coincide with DV offenses. To speak to an attorney about a child endangerment charge, click here for a free consultation.