(a) A person commits the crime of criminal nonsupport if, being a person legally charged with the support of a child the person knowingly fails, without lawful excuse, to provide support for the child.

Attorney's Note

Under the Alaska Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class C felonyup to 5 yearsup to $50,000
Class A misdemeanorup to 1 yearup to $25,000
For details, see Alaska Stat. § 12.55.125 and Alaska Stat. § 12.55.135
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Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 11.51.120

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
(b) As used in this section “support” includes necessary food, care, clothing, shelter, medical attention, and education. There is no failure to provide medical attention to a child if the child is provided treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by an accredited practitioner of the church or denomination.
(c) Except as provided in (d) of this section, criminal nonsupport is a class A misdemeanor.
(d) Criminal nonsupport is a class C felony if the support the person failed to provide is monetary support required by a court or administrative order from this or another jurisdiction and, at the time the person knowingly failed, without lawful excuse, to provide the support,

(1) the aggregate amount of accrued monetary child support arrearage is $20,000 or more;
(2) no child support payment has been made for a period of 24 consecutive months or more; or
(3) the person had been previously convicted under this section or a similar provision in another jurisdiction and

(A) the aggregate amount of accrued monetary child support arrearage is $5,000 or more; or
(B) no child support payment has been made for a period of six months or more.
(e) In addition to the provisions of (c) and (d) of this section, criminal nonsupport is punishable by loss or restriction of a recreational license as provided in Alaska Stat. § 12.55.139.
(f) In this section,

(1) “child” means a person

(A) under 18 years of age; or
(B) 18 years of age or older for whom a person is ordered to pay support under a valid court or administrative order;
(2) “child support” means support for a child;
(3) “without lawful excuse” means having the financial ability to provide support or having the capacity to acquire that ability through the exercise of reasonable efforts.
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