NCJ Number
249263
Date Published
July 2015
Length
140 pages
Annotation
Pursuant to the Kilah Davenport Child Protection Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-104), this report to the congressional judiciary committees is a compilation of each State's laws that prohibit child abuse, with attention to whether the laws of each State provide for "enhanced penalties when the victim has suffered serious bodily injury or permanent or protracted loss or impairment of any mental or emotional function."
Abstract
This compilation of child abuse statutes includes U.S. State and Territory statutes that define and set penalties for criminal physical child abuse as of December 2014. The compilation does not encompass statutes specific to child endangerment, child sexual abuse, child fatalities as a result of abuse or neglect, second or subsequent offenses, aggravated offenses related to child abuse and neglect offenses, general assault and battery statutes, and their corresponding penalties. Neither does the compilation contain every statute that prosecutors might use in their jurisdictions to prosecute child abuse, including abuse that results in serious bodily injury. The summary chart provided in this report contains a penalty range as indicated in the criminal physical child abuse statutes. When appropriate, the chart shows whether the cited statutes contain enhanced penalties for abuse that results in serious bodily injury and, if so, the length of that penalty. The penalty reported refers only to time of incarceration and does not include monetary fines, mandatory counseling, or probation.
Date Published: July 1, 2015