What You Need To Know About California Child Abuse Laws

What is Child Abuse?

California Penal Code §273d defines child abuse as “any person … willfully inflict[ing] upon a child any cruel or inhuman corporal punishment or an injury resulting in a traumatic condition.”

What must the prosecution prove to convict someone of Child Abuse?

In order to be found guilty of Child Abuse, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant:

  • The defendant willfully inflicted cruel or inhuman physical punishment and/or injury on a child
  • The punishment and/or injury inflicted by the defendant caused a traumatic physical condition to the child, and
  • When the defendant acted, he/she was not reasonably disciplining a child

What are the defenses to the charge of Child Abuse?

Being accused of Child Abuse is a very serious matter. These charges are difficult on emotional or legal levels. The following defenses can be used to aid your child abuse case:

False Allegations

The child may fabricate allegations of child abuse. This is the most common and effective defense of Child Abuse. It is very common for child abuse accusations to rise out of a family or domestic conflict. Someone in your family may accuse another of child abuse based on his/her own ulterior motive such as; anger, jealousy, revenge, or control. This is most often seen in child custody battles. Or if a child wants to try to “punish” his or her parent, parent’s boyfriend/girlfriend or guardian.

If the police or prosecutors are relying on misleading evidence, your defense lawyer will employ the services of a professional investigator to interview witnesses and investigate the false evidence on which the prosecution is relying to try to prove your guilt and prepare a highly skilled defense strategy that will protect you against an unjust prosecution.

Pre-file Defense

Child Abuse takes on many forms and in some cases, the line between the discipline and abuse may not be entirely clear. However, at My Criminal Defense, we prepare a very aggressive defense before the district attorney decided to file charges, so that we can persuade the D.A. to reject your case. This is called the pre-file defense.

In the event we are not able to persuade the D.A. to reject your case, we have already built a very strong and potent defense to seek either a dismissal of the charges or victory at trial. Please don’t try to be your own defense attorney. Contact the My Criminal Defense today to set up a FREE confidential consultation to protect your freedom and reputation against unjust prosecution!!

This is not child sexual abuse. This is child physical abuse. Hitting a child too hard is unlawful. Usually, DA’s will not file charges in these cases unless there are very severe injuries like multiple fractures of the child’s limbs or torso that are not consistent with the excuse was given by caregiver or a parent.

Again, PROACTIVE PRE-FILE DEFENSE. Hired an emergency room physician moonlighting as a forensic doctor to examine the prosecution’s doctor’s report that concluded that the young two-year-old boy’s multiple fractures were not necessarily the result of child abuse. The child’s room was extremely unkempt, littered with toys and other objects. The physician examined the child in his natural environment and saw the child recklessly run about the room and trip a half dozen times. A well written timely report discouraged the DA but he still filed charges. We got the charges dismissed following a preliminary hearing after the judge heard our expert’s testimony.

My Criminal Defense has successfully defended numerous clients who have been falsely accused of Child Abuse crimes by conducting a thorough investigation of the facts of each of our clients’ cases. Our criminal defense attorneys are experienced in handling such cases and, with our defense team of investigators and experts; our attorneys successfully defend you and protect you against wrongful and unjust prosecution.

With almost 100 collective years of experience serving as a legal defense team in Southern  California, we pride ourselves in our ability to create successful strategies that will protect your life and freedom.

TAKE IMMEDIATE STEPS TODAY to protect your life and freedom.

Call to set up a FREE confidential consultation with us today.