How Someone Can Get Charged with a Child Neglect Crime

Child neglect is a serious accusation that carries with it hefty penalties and extensive jail times. Standing accused of child neglect could destroy your reputation as a parent, private citizen, and employee.

What is Child Neglect?

A form of child abuse, child neglect occurs when a child’s caregiver fails to care for a child. That failure leads to physical, emotional, or psychological harm. The most primary example of child neglect is leaving a child behind in a car without air conditioning, but there are many different forms of child neglect that could lead to criminal charges.

Different Types of Child Neglect

·       Physical Child Neglect: Failing to provide a child with basic physical needs like clothing, food, or shelter, as well as abandoning a child for days or weeks at a time.

·       Medical Child Neglect: failing to provide a child with adequate or any kind of medical care, be it in the event of an emergency or for routine medical procedures and checkups.

·       Educational Child Neglect: Failing to enroll a child in school or allowing a child to actively skip school in lieu of other activities.

·       Psychological Child Neglect: The most complex and often the most overt, psychological child neglect often involves intimidation, humiliation, verbal degradation and other negative behavior – often under the guise or intent of discipline.

Child Neglect Penalties

Any of the above situations can be grounds for a child neglect conviction. Depending on the severity of the case, a defendant can be fined up to $10,000, as well as receive a term in prison of up to 10 months. In some cases, the neglect can be determined severe enough to remove custody from the parent or guardian if it’s in the child’s best interest.

The stigma of child neglect and the repercussions it could have on a defendant’s life go far beyond jail time and the amount of money it would cost to get out of the situation. If you or a loved one has been accused of child neglect in New Jersey, you need a skilled criminal defense attorney to advocate on your behalf. Atlantic City criminal defense attorney John Tumelty knows what it takes to help clients. Mr. Tumelty’s 35 years of experience as a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney gives him an edge in the courtroom. Schedule your consultation with our law offices today.