Dad Charged After Headbutting Door While Holding Baby
The government has an understandable interest in protecting minor children from preventable harm. As children have few explicit legal rights, they count on their parents to act in their best interests. When their parents fail to do so unreasonably, the state may step in. Under these circumstances, parents may be charged criminally, they may have their names entered in the state’s ChildLine Abuse Registry, and they may be at risk of having their parental rights restricted or taken away.
While the government often acts to protect children with good intentions, mistakes, misunderstandings, and claims made maliciously can leave fit and well-intentioned parents facing accusations of wrongdoing despite their best intentions. If the government is questioning your fitness as a parent due to allegedly criminal behavior, talk to us about your case today by calling 888-535-3686 or by contacting the LLF Law Firm online. The stakes of your situation are too high to navigate alone. Our Criminal Defense Team can help.
Parents Can Be Charged Even if Their Kids Don’t Suffer Harm
It can be frustrating to learn that well-intentioned behavior can be considered neglectful or abusive only after ChildLine complaints or criminal allegations have been made. When most people think of legally actionable neglect and abuse of children, they think about starving, abandoning, beating, and otherwise mistreating kids in truly outrageous ways. However, Pennsylvania’s definition of actionable neglect or abuse also deems “Creating a reasonable likelihood of bodily injury to a child through any recent act or failure to act” as a matter of criminal concern. This means that parents can be charged with neglect or abuse, even if their children do not suffer any harm, under certain circumstances.
One Pennsylvania father recently learned this lesson the hard way when he was arrested after headbutting a door while he was holding a four-month-old infant. Although the baby wasn’t hurt, the father wasn’t holding the child in a sufficiently supportive posture at the time of the headbutting, which placed the infant at risk of injury to their head or neck.
This dad probably never imagined that by intentionally striking his own head on a stationary object, he could be accused of harming his child. Yet, the state often embraces a broad sense of what may and may not be harmful to kids, at least when it believes that it has enough evidence to prosecute. This is one of the reasons why, even if the state has charged you with wrongdoing that seems ridiculous or horribly misunderstood, it’s important to seek experienced legal guidance and support right away.
Legal Assistance Is Available
If a ChildLine complaint has been filed against you and/or you’re facing criminal charges, it’s time to act. The respected Criminal Defense Team at the LLF Law Firm can start building a strong defense on your behalf as soon as we understand the details of your circumstances.
Your future, and your family’s future, could be dramatically impacted by how you handle these challenges. Tell us about your case today by calling 888-535-3686 or by contacting us online to learn about how we can help.