Penal Code § 273a PC – Child Endangerment – California Law

California Penal Code § 273a PC prohibits child endangerment, which is intentionally placing a child under 18 in a threatening situation. The child does not have to suffer physical harm: There just has to be an unreasonable risk to their health and safety.

Examples of what could lead to child endangerment charges include:

• Leaving a weapon, such as a knife or a loaded firearm, where a child can easily reach it;
• Leaving a child with a babysitter who has a history of abusive behavior,
• Driving drunk or high with a child in the car, or
• Failing to get medical treatment for a very sick child.

Child endangerment is a separate crime from:

• Child abuse (PC 273d), which is physically hurting a child and
• Child neglect (PC 270), which is failing to provide necessities such as food, shelter, medicine, or clothing.

The sentence for child endangerment turns on the extent of the danger, as the following table shows:

In this article, our California criminal defense lawyers discuss the following child endangerment topics:

• 1. Elements of 273a PC
• 2. Punishment
• 3. Defenses
• 4. Related Crimes
• Additional Resources

1. Elements of 273a PC

To convict you of child endangerment, a prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following three elements of California Jury Instruction (“CALCRIM”) 823.¹

Element 1 of Child Endangerment

The first element is that you must have willfully endangered a child under 18. “Willfully” means you acted on purpose, even if you did not intend to break the law or cause harm. “Endangerment” means any of the following actions:

• Inflicting unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering on a child; or
• Causing or permitting a child to suffer unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering; or
• While having care or custody of a child, causing or permitting their person or health to be injured; or
• While having care or custody of a child, causing or permitting them to be placed in a situation where their person or health was endangered.²

An example may be leaving drugs on the dining room table even though children in the house could easily access them.

Element 2 of Child Endangerment

The second element is that, if you were the minor’s parent, you were not reasonably disciplining the child.

For example, it is not endangerment to send your kid to their room without supper one night as punishment for misbehaving.³

Element 3 of Child Endangerment

The third element is you were criminally negligent when you caused or permitted the child to be endangered. You act with criminal negligence when:

1. Your reckless actions are a gross departure from how an ordinarily careful person would behave in the same situation; and
2. Your actions amount to disregard for human life or indifference to the consequences of your actions; and
3. A reasonable person would have known that behaving in that manner would naturally and likely cause harm to others.

In other words, behavior amounts to “criminal negligence” when it is so aggravated, gross, or reckless that it goes against common sense. The test is whether a “reasonable” person in a similar situation would have engaged in the same behavior.⁴

Leaving a loaded gun where a child can reach it may violate California’s “child endangerment” law.

Where There Is Criminal Negligence

The following examples are based on actual California court cases where the court ruled that there was criminal negligence.

Example: Edward, a man in his thirties, convinces his 14-year-old neighbor, Jason, to play “Russian Roulette.” Jason pulls the trigger and the gun goes off, killing him. Even though Jason shot himself, Edward was criminally negligent for giving a child a loaded gun and convincing him to pull the trigger.⁵

Example: Brian runs a methamphetamine lab in his home, where his six-year-old lives. He keeps dangerous and highly flammable chemicals throughout the house. Brian is criminally negligent for allowing a six-year-old to be in the presence of such chemicals.⁶

Where There Is No Criminal Negligence

If an act was the result of ordinary

• carelessness,
• inattention, or
• a mistake in judgment,

it is not criminal negligence, regardless of the consequences.⁷ Here is an example from an actual court case:

Example: Isabel leaves her four small children home alone while she goes to a bar. Hours later, a fire erupts, and one of the kids dies. Isabel was not criminally negligent because a reasonable person would not necessarily have foreseen the harm that arose from her actions. Thus, she is not guilty of child endangerment.⁸

2. Punishment

California penalties for violating 273a PC depend on whether your actions created a risk of “great bodily harm” or death to the endangered child. “Great bodily injury” is any significant or substantial physical injury.⁹

There Was No Risk of Great Bodily Harm or Death

Child endangerment that does not create a risk of great bodily injury or death is a California misdemeanor under 273a(b) PC, carrying:

• Up to 1 year in county jail and/or
• A fine of up to $1,000.¹⁰

There Was A Risk of Great Bodily Harm or Death

In California, child endangerment becomes a “wobbler” under 273a(a) PC if there was a risk of great bodily harm or death to the child. A prosecutor can choose to charge a “wobbler” as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the facts of the case and your criminal history.

As stated above, misdemeanor penalties include up to one year in county jail and/or $1,000. Felony penalties include:

• 2, 4, or 6 years in California state prison and/or
• A fine of up to $10,000.¹¹

If the child suffered a great bodily injury, the felony prison sentence will be extended by an additional:

• 3 to 6 years (depending on the child’s age and injuries) if you actually and personally inflicted great bodily injury on the victim, or
• 4 years if the child died as a result of your criminal negligence.¹²

Furthermore, the felony will count as a “strike” under California’s “Three Strikes” law. This means you face double penalties for a “second strike,” and a “third strike” carries 25 years to life in prison.¹³

Probation in Lieu of Incarceration

If you are convicted of child endangerment in California, the judge can grant you probation for a minimum of 48 months. Probation terms may include:

• A protective (restraining) order,
• Treatment, and
• Additional conditions such as drug testing.

The court may waive any of the above conditions if it finds that they would not be in the “best interests of justice.” The court may also grant early termination of probation if you comply with all the terms and conditions of probation for the first year or two.

Once you complete probation, you may expunge your criminal record.¹⁴

How the Criminal Case Affects Child Custody

Child Protective Services (CPS) may intervene and conduct an investigation if you are facing 273a PC charges. Depending on what they find, a California family court judge may then restrict, reduce, or possibly revoke your child custody rights.

Felony child endangerment penalties can include several years in prison.

3. Defenses

Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people accused of child endangerment. We have a long track record of persuading judges, juries, and prosecutors that our clients did not violate 273a PC.

Many common defenses involve police misconduct, such as failure to comply with search and seizure laws or coercing a confession. In addition, the following six defenses uniquely apply to child endangerment, abuse and neglect cases:

1) The Act Was Not Willful or Did Not Amount to Criminal Negligence

There are many ways we can establish enough reasonable doubt that you acted willfully or with criminal negligence. For instance, perhaps the child’s injury was the result of an accident or only ordinary negligence. If so, you did not violate 273a PC.

In many cases, we can get a medical expert to testify that the injuries appear to be the result of an accident rather than willful infliction.

2) You Were Reasonably Disciplining Your Child

You have the right to discipline your children in California as long as it is reasonable.¹⁵ One of the most common examples is sending a child to their room without dinner and their cell phone.

As long as what you did qualifies as reasonable discipline, criminal charges should not stand.

3) You Are a Victim of False Accusations

In our experience, many child endangerment cases start with a false allegation:

• Often a child will make up an accusation as the result of manipulation (“being coached”) by the other parent, especially during child custody cases.
• Perhaps the child is angry and wants to “get back” at you. This frequently occurs during a divorce or when you have a new partner.
• Sometimes a child’s caretaker might make a false accusation in order to cover up their own abuse.

When you are falsely accused, we review all the evidence that may prove your innocence. This includes interviewing everyone who may have witnessed the incident or who can vouch for your character.

Depending on the allegations, we may pull criminal records, school/employment records, etc. of other potentially responsible people. We also comb through the social media accounts of the child and others who may be involved.

In short, our skilled investigators and lawyers turn over every stone to find “exculpatory” evidence.

A common defense to child endangerment charges is that you had no responsibility over the child.

4) The Reporters Made a “Mistake of Fact”

California’s mandatory reporting law requires certain professionals (such as doctors, teachers, and clergy) to report suspected child endangerment to the authorities. If they do not, they can be charged with a misdemeanor and go to jail.¹⁶

Thus they are under strong pressure to report even the slightest suspicion of child endangerment. Consequently, we have seen case after case where these professionals make a mistake of fact by misinterpreting an innocent situation and reporting our blameless clients to the police.

Similar to cases where clients are falsely accused, we gather all the evidence possible to show the D.A. that nothing unlawful happened. Once they see your side of the story, the child endangerment charge may get dismissed.

5) Someone Else Endangered the Child

Overzealous police and prosecutors want to hold someone accountable when a child may be in danger. They often jump to conclusions about who is responsible.

In these cases, we rely on eyewitness testimony and surveillance video to show that you were not the person who caused the injuries.

6) You Had No Responsibility Over the Child

Child endangerment charges attach only to people who are responsible for a child’s welfare, such as parents, guardians, babysitters, etc. Even if a child was endangered, you should not be held responsible if you had no lawful obligation to look after the child.

In these cases, the most important factors are your relationship to the child and the timing of the accident. If we can show that you had no legal obligations to look after the child at the time they were endangered, then the prosecutors should drop the case.

Leaving a child with someone abusive may constitute child endangerment under California Penal Code 273a PC.

4. Related Crimes

• Arranging a meeting with a minor for lewd purposes – PC 288.4: Arranging a meeting with a minor under the age of 18 with the intent to engage in sexual conduct at the meeting.
• Contacting a minor with intent to commit a felony – PC 288.3: Contacting or communicating with a child while having reason to know that the person is a minor, with the intent to commit a sex crime or other serious felony involving that minor.
• Driving under the influence – VC PC 23152: Driving a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• Driving with young children without restraint systems – VC 27360: Operating a motor vehicle with children that are not in the child seat appropriate for their age and size.
• DUI with a child under 14 – VC 23572: Operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol with a child under 14 in the automobile.
• Furnishing dangerous fireworks to a minor – HS 12702: Selling, giving, or delivering dangerous fireworks to minors.
• Involuntary manslaughter – PC192(b): Unlawfully causing the death of another person by acting with criminal negligence.
• Lewd acts with a minor – PC 288: Lewd and lascivious acts with a child.
• Murder – PC 187: Unlawful killing with malice.
• Oral copulation with a minor – PC 287: Engaging in oral sex with a child under 18.
• Relinquishing a vehicle to a minor – PC193.8a: Relinquishing a motor vehicle to a minor when the adult knows the minor is intoxicated, the minor has previously been convicted of certain crimes (such as reckless driving or DUI), or the minor is otherwise not lawfully allowed to drive.
• Statutory rape – PC 261.5: Having sexual intercourse with anyone other than your spouse who is under 18 years old.
• Voluntary manslaughter – PC 192: The unlawful killing of a human being that occurs during a sudden quarrel, in the heat of passion, or based on an honest but unreasonable belief in the need to defend yourself.

Child neglect is often charged along with child endangerment in California.

Additional Resources

For more information, refer to the following:

• Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OPAC) – A department within the California Department of Social Services that works to prevent and address child abuse and neglect in California.
• Local Child Protective Services – Department of Social Services – The agency in California responsible for investigating reports of child abuse and neglect.
• Prevent Child Abuse America – A national organization that works to promote public policies, public awareness, and community education to prevent child abuse and neglect.
• Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline – 800-4-a-child – A 24-hour confidential hotline that provides crisis intervention, information, literature, and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service, and support resources for children and adults affected by child abuse.
• Child Abuse and Neglect – Informational article by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.gov).

Legal References: