Child Abuse is a serious charge in Weld County and can have lasting impacts on your life. You need an experienced child endangerment or child neglect attorney to help you navigate the Weld County court system. Parenting is hard enough without involving the Greeley Police or Weld County Sheriff. We all make parenting mistakes, and what might seem like a small error could alter your life. With the COVID 19 pandemic it is easy to want to protect your child from germs and leave them in the car when you need to run into the store, but as one Georgia man found out, this can lead to criminal charges. In the Georgia case, a one-year old child was found in a car after a passerby saw the child unattended. The police were called and then found the father shopping in the store. The man was charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct, however in Colorado the charge would be Child Abuse.
What is the Definition of Child Abuse in Greeley, Colorado?
In Greeley Colorado, the definition of Child Abuse, C.R.S. 18-6-401, is:
A person commits child abuse if such person causes an injury to a child’s life or health, or permits a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation that poses a threat of injury to the child’s life or health, or engages in a continued pattern of conduct that results in malnourishment, lack of proper medical care, cruel punishment, mistreatment, or an accumulation of injuries that ultimately results in the death of a child or serious bodily injury to a child.
This simply means that in regard to leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle, when a dad or mom leaves their one year old child unattended in a car (even though the car was running and air conditioning was on) they place the child it a situation that poses a threat of injury to the child’s life and/or health. As a result, Greeley police will issue a summons for Child Abuse.
What is the Penalty and Sentence for Child Abuse in Weld County?
The penalty and sentence for Child Abuse in Weld County depends on what happens to the child, the injuries that were suffered or the risk of injury that the child experienced. If the child only suffers minor injuries the charge would be a class 1 misdemeanor or a class 2 misdemeanor, if the child did not suffer any injuries at all. However, if the person convicted has another conviction for Child Abuse here or in any other state, then it would be a class 5 felony. The charge can also be a class 3 felony if the child suffers serious bodily injury or a class 4 felony if a judge decides that the defendant’s actions were criminally negligent. The proper characterization and plea for your charges is critical.
In the case above, the man would most likely be charged with a misdemeanor since no injury occurred, unless he had a prior conviction.
What is the Definition of Serious Bodily Injury in Greeley, Colorado?
In Greeley, Colorado, the definition of Serious Bodily Injury is:
Bodily injury which, either at the time of the actual injury or at a later time, involves a substantial risk of death, a substantial risk of serious permanent disfigurement, a substantial risk of protracted loss or impairment of the function of any part or organ of the body, or breaks, fractures, or burns of the second or third degree.
With regards to a Colorado Child Abuse charge, this means that any time a child’s injury could pose a risk of death, serious scarring, or the loss / impairment of a body part, that could be considered serious bodily injury and greatly escalate the level of charge pending.
When you have been charged by the Greeley Police with Child Abuse, first, exercise your right to remain silent with the police. They will be nice and try to make you talk, which will not help your situation. All they want is to gather information and evidence against you, to use at your trial.
Be smart and exercise your right to remain silent. Call our determined and passionate defense lawyers at the O’Malley Law Office. Call 970-616-6009 to meet with a Christian criminal defense attorney in Greeley and Weld County for a free consultation. We practice criminal law all over the state of Colorado. Together, we can protect your future.
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