Child Abuse Defense

Child abuse is defined in A.R.S. § 13-3623. Under that statute, a child is anyone under 18 years old. The statute also covers vulnerable adults; this page focuses on children.

The law reaches two groups:

• Anyone who causes a child to suffer physical injury. In the less serious form of the offense, this also includes causing a child to suffer abuse as the statute defines it.
• A person who has care or custody of a child and who causes or permits the child to be injured, or causes or permits the child to be placed in a situation where the child's person or health is endangered.

"Physical injury" is defined broadly. It includes bruising, bleeding, burns, broken bones, malnutrition, dehydration and any physical condition that imperils health or welfare. "Serious physical injury" means an injury that creates a reasonable risk of death or causes serious or permanent disfigurement, serious impairment of health, or loss or long-term impairment of the function of a bodily organ or limb.

Allowing a child to enter or stay in a building or vehicle with volatile, toxic or flammable chemicals, or with equipment for manufacturing certain dangerous drugs, also counts as endangerment or abuse. In that situation, care or custody is not required.

The prosecution must also prove a mental state. These terms are defined in A.R.S. § 13-105:

• Intentionally means your objective was to cause the result or engage in the conduct. Knowingly means you were aware or believed your conduct was of that nature.
• Recklessly means you were aware of and consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk, and that disregard was a gross deviation from what a reasonable person would do.
• Criminal negligence means you failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk, and that failure was a gross deviation from the care a reasonable person would use.

For a first felony offense that is not a dangerous crime against children and has no other enhancement, A.R.S. § 13-702(D) sets these prison ranges:

Prior felony convictions raise these ranges. A felony fine can be up to $150,000 under A.R.S. § 13-801, and surcharges are added to any fine.

Dangerous crime against children. When the charge is intentional or knowing child abuse under circumstances likely to produce death or serious physical injury, and the child is under 15, A.R.S. § 13-3623 says the offense is punishable under A.R.S. § 13-705. That statute treats it as a dangerous crime against children. For a completed offense by an adult, it sets a range of 10 years minimum, 17 years presumptive and 24 years maximum. With one prior predicate felony, the range is 21, 28 and 35 years. A person sentenced for a completed dangerous crime against children is not eligible for probation, suspension of sentence, pardon or release until the sentence is served or commuted, except as the law specifically allows.

Mental state. The difference between a class 2 felony and a class 4 felony can come down to whether the state can prove you acted intentionally or knowingly rather than recklessly or with criminal negligence. Even criminal negligence requires a gross deviation from reasonable care. We look closely at what you knew, what you could have perceived and what actually happened.

The medical evidence. Many child abuse cases depend on medical opinions about whether an injury happened, when it happened and what caused it. We review the records in detail and, where it makes sense, work with independent medical professionals to test the state's conclusions.

How dangerous the circumstances were. The more serious classifications apply only when the circumstances were likely to produce death or serious physical injury. If the facts do not support that, the charge may belong under the less serious subsection, which carries a lower class.

Care or custody, and who was responsible. The "causes or permits" parts of the statute apply only to someone who had care or custody of the child. When several adults were around a child, we work to establish who was present, who was responsible and when any injury could have occurred.

The investigation itself. We examine how statements were obtained, how the child was interviewed and how evidence was gathered. Problems there can affect what evidence the state can use and how much weight it deserves.