“Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor” – Nevada Law

Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is a criminal offense in Nevada. Specifically, this is defined as causing a child under the age of 18 to:

1. beg in public, be destitute, be homeless, or live in a brothel or other unfit home;
2. have no adult supervision, be in the company of criminals, or in a saloon;
3. take drugs or alcohol or otherwise break the law; or
4. miss school habitually or lead an idle or immoral life.

An NRS 201.110 violation is a misdemeanor with maximum punishments of:

• 6 months in jail, and/or
• $1,000

It may be possible to have contributory delinquency charges dismissed or reduced as part of a plea bargain. Typical defense arguments include:

• You were the victim of false accusations,
• There was no delinquency, or
• Your behavior was legally protected

The full text of the statute reads:

NRS 201.110.  1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, any person who commits any act or omits the performance of any duty, which act or omission causes or tends to cause or encourage any person under the age of 18 to become a “neglected child,” “child in need of supervision” or “delinquent child,” as defined in NRS 201.090, 201.100 and 201.110 or which act or omission contributes thereto, or any person who, by any act or omission, or by threats, command or persuasion, induces or endeavors to induce any person under the age of 18 to perform any act or to follow any course of conduct or to so live as would cause or manifestly tend to cause any such person to become or to remain a person who is a “neglected child,” “child in need of supervision” or “delinquent child,” as defined in NRS 201.090, is guilty of contributory neglect or contributory delinquency. Contributory neglect or contributory delinquency is a misdemeanor.

2. A person does not commit a violation of subsection 1 by virtue of the sole fact that the person delivers or induces the delivery of a child to a provider of emergency services pursuant to NRS 432B.630.

In this article, our Las Vegas Nevada criminal defense attorneys discuss:

• 1. What is “contributing to the delinquency of a minor”?
• 2. What are the penalties?
• 3. How do I fight the charges?
• 4. When can the record be sealed?
• 5. Are there immigration consequences?
• 6. Related Offenses
• Additional Reading

1. What is “contributing to the delinquency of a minor”?

It is a Nevada crime to contribute to a child’s delinquent behavior or neglect. Specifically, you face contributory delinquency charges for causing a child (under 18-years old) to be in any of the following 14 situations:

1. begging on the street or other public place;
2. having no parent or guardian exercising proper parental control;
3. being destitute or without life necessities;
4. living in a home that is unfit for a child;
5. living in a brothel;
6. being homeless;
7. keeping the company of criminals or vagrants;
8. visiting a saloon;
9. consuming alcohol or drugs;
10. refusing to obey the child’s parents’ or guardians’ reasonable orders;
11. being habitually truant from school;
12. leading an idle, dissolute, lewd, or immoral life;
13. conducting themself in an indecent or immoral way; or
14. breaking the law¹

Note that contributing to the delinquency of a minor is different than child abuse (NRS 200.508), which typically involves causing physical, sexual or mental harm.²

Save Haven Laws

Note that Nevada’s “safe haven” laws permit you to lawfully leave babies no older than 30 days with either a(n):

• hospital, an obstetric center, or an independent center for emergency medical care licensed pursuant to chapter 449 of NRS;
• public fire-fighting agency, including, without limitation, a volunteer fire department;
• law enforcement agency (such as a police or sheriff’s department);
• ambulance service that holds a permit issued pursuant to the provisions of chapter 450B of NRS; or
• agency which provides child welfare services.

If you safely surrender your 30-day-old or younger infants at any of these “havens,” you will not face criminal prosecution for contributory delinquency.³

2. What are the penalties?

As a misdemeanor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor carries a sentence of:

• up to six (6) months in jail, and/or
• up to $1,000 in fines⁴

It is rare for judges to order jail for a first-time misdemeanor offense. However, since these situations involve child welfare, judges may be less open to letting you off with only a fine. Therefore, you should retain legal counsel to fight the charges and negotiate for the best possible resolution.

Since contributing to the delinquency of a minor is only a misdemeanor, it is a favorable offense to plea bargain down to: For instance, child endangerment carries harsher penalties than contributory delinquency, and prosecutors may be willing to reduce child endangerment to contributory delinquency in some cases.

3. How do I fight the charges?

The best way to fight contributory delinquency charges turns on the facts of the case. Some common defenses include:

1. You were falsely accused
2. There was no delinquency
3. Your behavior was legally protected

You Were Falsely Accused

Sometimes the police arrest the wrong person by accident. Or sometimes people — especially angry children or exes — deliberately accuse an innocent person out of revenge.

We would investigate the situation and compile evidence — such as past communications and recordings — to show that the accuser may have had a reason to lie and that you did nothing wrong. If the D.A. fails to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the charge should be dropped.

There Was No Delinquency

“Bad” or “lazy” parenting does not necessarily equate with contributing to a child’s delinquency. For instance:

• Feeding a child processed or junk food is not contributing to them being without life’s necessities; or
• Letting a child watch TV all day is not contributing to them leading an immoral life.

Just because a child has undesirable habits does not make them delinquent. If police may have hastily arrested you on NRS 201.110 charges, we would gather evidence to show that nothing you did rose to the level of contributory delinquency.

Your Behavior Was Legally Protected

Police may be over-zealous in arresting adults who appear to be contributing to child delinquency but are really just exercising their rights to inflict reasonable punishment. For example, it is perfectly legal in Nevada for you to punish your children by:

• sending them to their room,
• not letting them participate in certain activities, or
• depriving them of one dinner.

In these situations, we would argue that nothing in NRS 201.110’s text applies to your actions. The prosecutor may agree then to drop the charges.

4. When can the record be sealed?

There is a one (1) year waiting period to get an NRS 201.110 conviction sealed. Note that the waiting period begins after the case ends, not after the initial arrest or guilty verdict.⁵

There is no waiting period to get a record seal if the NRS 201.110 case gets dismissed (meaning there is no conviction). However, the record seal process itself takes several months.⁶

5. Are there immigration consequences?

Even though contributory delinquency is a misdemeanor, a non-citizen convicted of violating NRS 201.110 could still be deported if the court considers the offense to be a crime of moral turpitude.

Therefore, any alien suspected of contributory delinquency should retain an experienced attorney right away who may be able to get the charge dismissed or changed to a non-deportable offense.⁷

6. Related Offenses

Furnishing Alcohol to a Person Under 21

You can be charged with furnishing alcohol to a person under 21 for either:

• selling or giving alcohol to an underage person;
• leaving alcohol in a place with the intent that an underage person will retrieve it; or
• giving money to an underage person knowing the person will use that money to get alcohol

This offense is a misdemeanor carrying up to six (6) months in jail and/or up to $1,000 in fines.⁸

Aiding a Child to Possess a Gun

Letting a minor possess a firearm without lawful permission and supervision is a crime. (In some situations, there are exceptions involving hunting, training, or the military.)

Letting a non-violent child have a gun is a misdemeanor carrying up to six (6) months in jail and/or up to $1,000 in fines. If the child is violent, furnishing the child with a gun is a felony.⁹

Leaving a Child Unattended in a Car

Nevada prohibits leaving a child under eight (8) years old in an automobile if the keys are in the ignition or the conditions are potentially hazardous unless a person age twelve (12) or older is actively supervising the child.

As a misdemeanor, leaving a child unattended in a car carries up to six (6) months in jail and/or up to $1,000 in fines.¹⁰

Luring a Child

Nevada law prohibits contacting a child under sixteen (16) years old and more than five (5) years younger than you with the intent to take the child away without the guardian’s consent. If the purpose of the luring was sexual, the child’s age is irrelevant: All that matters is that you believed the victim was under 16 and at least 5 years younger.

Luring a child can be a gross misdemeanor or a felony.¹¹

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these 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.

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Legal References