§ 272 PC – Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor in California

California Penal Code 272 PC prohibits contributing to the delinquency of a minor. This means causing or enabling a child under 18 to either:

• engage in illegal or delinquent behavior,
• become a habitual truant, or
• become a dependent or ward of the juvenile court system.

Violating 272 PC is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and/or fines of up to $2,500. Examples of contributing to the delinquency of a minor include:

• letting a 13-year-old niece use a spare bedroom to have sex with her 19-year-old boyfriend.
• giving cigarettes to a 16-year-old son and his friends.
• encouraging a minor to skip school.

Below our California criminal defense attorneys address the following topics re. contributing to the delinquency of a minor:

• 1. Elements of 272 PC
• 2. Defenses
• 3. Probation
• 4. Expungements
• 5. Related Offenses
• Additional Reading

1. Elements of 272 PC

California Criminal Jury Instruction “CALCRIM” 2980 spells out the element of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. For you to be convicted of violating 272 PC, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following two elements:

1. you committed an act or failed to perform a duty, and
2. in doing so, you caused or contributed to causing a minor to become a delinquent, a habitual truant, or a dependent child of the juvenile court.¹

We discuss these elements below.

1) “Failed to Perform a Duty”

California law requires parents and legal guardians to exercise reasonable care, supervision, protection, and control over the minor.² To violate 272 PC, you must act with either:

• general criminal intent, where you act deliberately; or
• criminal negligence, where you act in a reckless way that creates a high risk of death or great bodily injury, and a reasonable person would have known the risks of your behavior.³

2) “Delinquent, Habitual Truant, and Dependent Children”

A “delinquent child” is a minor who has been found by a court to have committed a crime.⁶ Meanwhile, a “habitual truant” means that such child:

• has violated an age-based curfew,
• habitually and persistently refused to obey the reasonable orders of their parent or guardian, and/or
• has four or more unexcused absences from school in a school year.⁷

Finally, minors become dependents of California’s juvenile court system for any of the following reasons:

• they are a victim of child abuse, child neglect, and/or sexual abuse,
• they suffer severe emotional damage as a result of mistreatment or neglect by a parent or guardian,
• they are left without a means of support,
• their sibling is the victim of abuse or neglect, and/or
• they are subjected to an act of cruelty by a member of their household.⁸

272 PC makes it a misdemeanor to cause an underage person to become a juvenile delinquent.

2. Defenses

Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with crimes involving minors, including 272 PC. In our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors and judges at getting these charges reduced or dismissed.

1) You Did Not Know the Person Was Under 18

If you genuinely did not know the person was a minor, you cannot be convicted of contributing to their delinquency. We find this defense helpful in cases where the minor in question:

• appeared older than their age and/or
• lied about being an adult.

Since the D.A. cannot get inside of your head, they may have trouble proving beyond a reasonable doubt that you knew the alleged victim was under 18.

2) You Could Not Reasonably Control the Child

Every parent knows that despite their best efforts, some children still get into trouble. Prosecutors – who are often parents themselves – understand this and are often willing to reduce or dismiss these charges once we explain you did everything within your lawful power to keep your child under control.

3) You Were Falsely Accused

We see this scenario a lot. Sometimes an angry child or vengeful ex-spouse will falsely accuse the other parent of violating 272 PC just to get them into trouble.

Fortunately, we can usually find their motivation to lie by reviewing their text messages and speaking to eyewitnesses. Your case may be dropped once prosecutors see that the accusers lack credibility.

California penalties for contributing to the delinquency of a child include possible jail.

3. Probation

If you are convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in California, the judge can grant you misdemeanor probation instead of a jail term. Typical terms include:

• $2,500 in fines,
• community service,
• a suspended jail sentence of one year,
• parenting/guardianship classes (if applicable to your situation), and/or
• a stay-away order (if applicable to your situation).

Violating probation could result in you being remanded to jail for the length of your suspended sentence.⁹

4. Expungements

If you are convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in California, you can get the conviction expunged once you successfully complete:

• your jail time or
• probation.

The expungement process releases you from virtually “all penalties and disabilities” of the conviction. Following the expungement, your record should be automatically sealed.

Giving pot to a minor can be prosecuted under 272 PC as well as 11361 HS.

5. Related Offenses

Furnishing Marijuana to a Minor – 11361 HS

Health and Safety Code 11361 HS makes it a crime to:

• sell, give, or offer marijuana to a minor,
• induce a minor to use marijuana, or
• employ or use a minor to transport, sell or give away marijuana.

Depending on the facts of the case, you can be charged under both 272 PC and 11361 HS.

Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor – 25658 BP

Business and Professions Code 25658 BP makes it a misdemeanor to sell or furnish alcohol to a minor (someone under the state legal drinking age of 21).

Sending Harmful Material to a Minor – 288.2 PC

Penal Code 288.2 PC makes it a felony to send, distribute or exhibit harmful, lewd, lascivious, or obscene material to a minor under the age of 18.

There are several California crimes involving negatively influencing children.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to the following scholarly articles:

• Truancy: It’s Not About Skipping School – Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal.
• Truants’ Perceptions of Family Factors as Causes of School Truancy and Non-attendance – Journal of Psychology.
• Contributing to Delinquency: An Exercise in Judicial Speculation – Akron Law Review.
• Factors Contributing to Juvenile Delinquency – American Institute of Criminal Law & Criminology.
• Contributing to Delinquency – St. Louis University Law Journal.

Legal References: