Child Abuse Crimes in Wagoner County are nothing to be toyed with. In June of 2017 child abuse charges were brought against the pastor of a faith-based healing, Christian community. A 2-year old girl died of pneumonia while her parents refused medical treatment at the direction of the pastor. The parents face involuntary manslaughter charges. Medical doctors insist the girl would be alive today with minimal medical intervention. While this case is extreme, it is also very tragic. Unfortunately, sometimes people use fake child abuse stories in order to leverage power in custody cases. False accusations can be equally as damaging as real ones.
Child Abuse Crimes and Oklahoma Law
Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes address child abuse. It is important to understand the terms of law surrounding these types of allegations.
- Under § 1-1-105(2) you can fine Abuse: It is threat(s) of harm or actual harm to the health, safety, or welfare of a child by a person responsible for the child.
- It is important to also understand harm or threatened harm: Intentionally or knowingly (not accidentally) putting a child in fear of harm or actually causing physical injury to the child.
Therefore, harm itself is not subject to limits of physical harm. It can be emotional, mental, or neglectful harm. Neglect may seem tricky as “abuse”. However, the law sees it as a failure to protect a child from abuse or domestic violence. Thus, it is a passive accomplice of abuse. So not providing the child with medical, physical, or basic emotional needs or failing to report a situation like this, is a form of child abuse.
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Legal Consequences of Child Abuse
Child abuse crimes in Oklahoma has several consequences. The State will
often take over custody. This means a child will go to foster care. In severe cases of child abuse, parental rights will completely terminate. Secondly, child abuse is a felony charge. If you receive a conviction, you will lose certain rights. These include owning and using firearms, loss of opportunities for certain employment, and sometimes even problems getting housing.
Finally, you are facing up to one year in prison minimum. If the child abuse is extremely severe you may face a much larger sentence, including life. You will likely also receives fines. These can max out at $5,000 per conviction. Further, the courts will require you to pay for treatment to make the child well again. This could be medical treatment, psychological treatment, and other evaluations the court deems necessary.
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Child abuse on a person’s record is an ugly charge. Nobody wants to go through life with this title. Let our offices help you out of a tough situation. Our first consultation is free 918-283-7394
