-The crime of child endangerment
is when you
either inflict mental or
physical suffering on a child
or you allow a child to
be in a situation
that's inherently dangerous.
Now, keep in mind that the child
does not have to suffer
actual harm.
So for example, you may have
a loaded gun in your home.
And it may be in a situation
where it's not locked up and
children have access to it.
And you could be charged with
child endangerment for that,
even if the children never
go and touch the gun.
Or it might be a situation where
you're driving while
under the influence and you have
children in your car and
you get pulled over.
You could be arrested not only
for DUI, but also for child
endangerment.
Even if there's no accident,
even if the children are never
actually hurt, just the fact
that they were put in a
situation that's inherently
dangerous for them is enough
for the authorities to
charge you in this.
Now, child endangerment
is a wobbler.
That means it could be filed as
a misdemeanor or a felony,
depending on the
circumstances.
If it's filed as a felony, you
could face up to six years in
state prison.
And perhaps, worst of all is if
you're convicted, you could
lose your children.
CPS could take custody of your
children and put them in a
foster home.
And so the consequences can
be very devastating.
Now, that said, child
endangerment is one of those
crimes where we see a lot of
innocent people getting
accused and tragically,
a lot of innocent
people being convicted.
Now, for example, it may be a
situation where somebody else
had responsibility, and
not you, for the
children at the time.
Or it may be a situation where
somebody else created the
danger and you weren't even
really aware of it.
It may also be a situation where
you took adequate steps
to protect the child, but the
police are simply making a big
case out of nothing and blowing
it out of proportion.
Here at Shouse Law Group, we've
had a great record of
success in defending people
over the years in these
various situations who are
charged with child
endangerment and ultimately
getting the
charges reduced or dismissed.
