Louisiana Children’s Code 615.1 – Reports; review by district attorney
Terms Used In Louisiana Children's Code 615.1
- Abuse: means any one of the following acts that seriously endanger the physical, mental, or emotional health, welfare, and safety of the child:
(a) The infliction, attempted infliction, or, as a result of inadequate supervision, the allowance of the infliction or attempted infliction of physical or mental injury upon the child by a parent or any other person. See Louisiana Children's Code 603
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Child: means a person under eighteen years of age who, prior to juvenile proceedings, has not been judicially emancipated under Civil Code Article 366 or emancipated by marriage under Civil Code Article 367. See Louisiana Children's Code 603
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- 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.
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
A. When a law enforcement agency receives a report of a crime involving sexual abuse of a child, including but not limited to those received pursuant to Louisiana Children’s Code Article 610(E)(3), the law enforcement agency shall:
(1) Maintain a report containing all information listed in Louisiana Children’s Code Article 610(B) and (C), if known, and conduct a full investigation of the allegations.
(2) Maintain the confidentiality of the identity of the reporter in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. 46:56.
(3) After investigation of the report of child sexual abuse by the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the reported incident, send the investigative file to the district attorney for review whether or not an arrest is made.
B. In cases involving allegations of sexual abuse of a child:
(1) If the district attorney determines that the report has been fully investigated and there is insufficient evidence to establish probable cause for arrest, the district attorney shall upload the information contained in the report pursuant to Louisiana Children’s Code Article 610(B) and (C) to the central registry for children in need of care maintained by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information in the office of state police if an alleged perpetrator has been identified. The information uploaded to the registry shall also include the name of the law enforcement agency that handled the investigation of the complaint.
(2) If the district attorney determines that the report needs further investigation, he shall refer the report to the multidisciplinary team established pursuant to Louisiana Children’s Code Article 507 et seq. If, after a multidisciplinary team investigation, there is still insufficient evidence to establish probable cause for an arrest, the pertinent information in the report shall be uploaded to the bureau as provided in Subparagraph (B)(1) of this Article.
(3) In no case shall the district attorney forward information to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information in the office of state police when the district attorney finds, based on the investigation, that the allegations are false.
Acts 2006, No. 394, §1.