There are all kinds of creative ways parents come up with to punish or discipline their kids these days. The thing is that there really isn’t any need to recreate the wheel when it comes to correcting a child’s behavior. The basics still work like a charm and they’re not likely to land you in any trouble. Grounding, putting kids in the corner, making them do extra chores (or any chores), and temporarily taking away things they enjoy won’t create your idea of the perfect child but absent true behavior problems, your son or daughter will straighten up.
Unfortunately, more and more adults are choosing to go to extremes with punishing children using terror and physical harm. This obvious lapse of good judgment can end with an arrest for assault or worse. Depending upon the circumstances around the criminal charges, there may be defenses that can reduce or dismiss the charges.
You can be charged with murder without actually killing anyone
Most people who think about child abuse automatically think about beatings or otherwise physically harming a child. That’s not always the case and law enforcement is able to pinpoint other forms of abuse that you may not realize qualifies as criminal behavior. In fact, children can be severely injured and killed just by the grossly negligent actions of someone left in charge that ultimately causes that child’s death.
Take the case in Alabama of the live-in boyfriend who was having trouble dealing with his girlfriend’s five-year-old son so he took him for a ride on a cold and rainy evening in late November. According to the man, the little boy was acting up so he somehow thought it would be a great idea to punish him by dumping him out of his car on a busy highway. Before the man knew it, the child walked into traffic and was struck and killed by a driver who had no chance of avoiding him.
You might say the car that hit the child killed him but that’s not the way Alabama sees it, and that’s not how Maryland would see it either. The boyfriend was charged with murder of the child because he was responsible for intentionally placing that child in the position of being killed.
Punishing bad behavior that is tantamount to child abuse is not reserved for parents only. In Maryland, those who can be charged by statute include anyone who:
- Lives in the home at the time the abuse occurs
- Is a family member of the child by blood, adoption, or marriage
- Is responsible for the supervision of the child
How is child abuse charged in Maryland?
Just watching the news it would seem there are infinite ways to abuse your kid so the prosecutor’s office can get creative in levying charges against anyone accused of harming a child. Depending on the allegations and evidence obtained, you can find yourself on the end of a pretty long list of legal troubles. Prosecutors will often lob multiple charges onto an indictment to see what might stick.
Think about it like this; a child was hurt, and the public wants to see someone held accountable. If a jury doesn’t find enough evidence to convict you for one particular charge, the state wants to make sure they have other options to consider maximizing the odds of you being convicted.
It works similarly for negotiating any deals in lieu of taking a case to trial. Instead of prosecutors dropping the charges for lack of evidence on the harshest one, they’ll charge you with multiple crimes. They use this as leverage to get you to plea to something lesser so at least you’re punished and they get check in the win column. This is why you can’t risk hiring an inexperienced criminal defense attorney. You need someone in your corner who not only understands how the justice system works, but the politics behind it.
You might be charged with:
- First degree felony child abuse. The individual responsible for the care of the child at the time did something that resulted in the death of or severe physical injury to that child. Injury to the child carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison while causing a child’s death could mean up to a 30-year prison sentence upon conviction.
- Second degree felony child abuse. A household member or individual responsible for the care or supervision of a child who abuses him or her may face a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.
- Repeat offenders. If you have a previous conviction for child abuse and are convicted a second time, it is another felony charge carrying a sentence of incarceration for up to 25 years for injury to the child and up to 30 years for causing a child’s death.
Even something like the recent incident in Texas where a woman dangled a young child from a third story balcony threatening to drop him for misbehaving can end in an arrest for reckless endangerment in Maryland. Even as a misdemeanor without causing any physical harm to a child, you could still end up serving five years and paying a $5,000 fine.
If you have been accused of child abuse or any other crime involving physical harm to a child, give yourself the best chance of getting out of trouble with a criminal defense provided by Drew Cochran, Attorney at Law. Schedule your free consultation today in Drew’s Annapolis or Ellicott City offices by calling 410.271.1892 or by reaching out to him through his firm’s contact page.
And remember – Keep Calm, and Call Drew.
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