In Tulsa, Oklahoma, permitting child abuse by injury is a serious crime for which a defendant may serve up to life in prison and lose access to the child.
You can be charged with permitting child abuse in Tulsa OK even if you were not the one actually abusing the child.
Defining Child Abuse by Injury
A child in Oklahoma is anyone under the age of 18.
Child abuse in Tulsa OK is the willful or malicious harm or threatened harm or failure to protect from harm or threatened harm to the health, safety, or welfare of a child. Child abuse also includes the act of willfully or maliciously injuring, torturing, or maiming a child.
The injury can be physical, mental or emotional. Ordinary force by a parent used to discipline a child including spanking, switching, or paddling is not prohibited by the law in Oklahoma. In order to be considered abuse, the act must be willful or malicious and not accidental.
Permitting Child Abuse in Tulsa OK
A person who is in charge of the child’s welfare who knowingly permits the abuse can also be charged with the separate crime of permitting child abuse by injury even though he/she did not participate in the act itself. It is enough that the defendant failed to intervene or to protect the child from harm.
The prosecutor must prove the all of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt in order to get a conviction for permitting child abuse by injury:
- person responsible for a child’s health, safety, or welfare;
- knowingly;
- permitted;
- injury, torture, maiming, or use of unreasonable force;
- upon a child.
OUJI-CR 4-36
Abuse is defined as actual harm or threatened harm or failure to protect from harm or threatened harm.
Harm or threatened harm to the health or safety of a child is any real or threatened physical, mental, or emotional injury or damage to the body or mind that is not accidental.
Penalties for Child Abuse in Tulsa OK
Child abuse by injury is a felony crime. This is punishable by anywhere from one year in county jail to life imprisonment. A fine between $500 and $5,000 may be required in addition to or in lieu of incarceration. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 843.5
Intervention and removal of the child from the custody of the person permitting the abuse is also possible in order to protect the child.
Oklahoma’s Child Abuse Reporting Laws
Oklahoma law imposes upon all health care professionals, teachers, and other responsible adults an obligation to report in good faith all suspected instances of child abuse to the Department of Human Services. Anyone acting in good faith and exercising due care in reporting child abuse has immunity from any civil or criminal liability.
Failure to report child abuse in Tulsa OK or making a false report is a misdemeanor offense.
Initial Consultation: Tulsa Criminal Defense Attorney
If you or someone you know is accused of child abuse in Tulsa OK, please contact a Tulsa criminal defense attorney to discuss your available legal options.
Consult with an experienced attorney at the Wirth Law Offices – Tulsa today by calling 918-756-9600 or toll-free at 1-888-447-7262 (Wirth Law).
You can also send a question or brief message through this website.