Texas Penal Code 22.041 – Abandoning or Endangering a Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled Individual
Current as of: 2024 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
(a) In this section:
(1) “Abandon” means to leave in any place without providing reasonable and necessary care a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual under circumstances under which no reasonable, similarly situated person would leave a child or individual of that age and ability.
(2) “Child,” “elderly individual,” and “disabled individual” have the meanings assigned by § 22.04.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person, having custody, care, or control of a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual, intentionally abandons the child or individual in any place under circumstances that expose the child or individual to an unreasonable risk of harm.
Attorney's Note
Under the Texas Codes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| State jail felony | between 180 days and 2 years | up to $10,000 |
Terms Used In Texas Penal Code 22.041
- Act: means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary, and includes speech. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Bodily injury: means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying mental state. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Controlled substance: has the meaning assigned by § 481. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Death: includes , for an individual who is an unborn child, the failure to be born alive. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Felony: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by death or confinement in a penitentiary. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Harm: means anything reasonably regarded as loss, disadvantage, or injury, including harm to another person in whose welfare the person affected is interested. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Individual: means a human being who is alive, including an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Omission: means failure to act. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Possession: means actual care, custody, control, or management. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
(c) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence, by act or omission, engages in conduct that places a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.
(c-1) For purposes of Subsection (c), it is presumed that a person engaged in conduct that places a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment if:
(1) the person manufactured, possessed, or in any way introduced into the body of any person the controlled substance methamphetamine in the presence of the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual;
(2) the person’s conduct related to the proximity or accessibility of the controlled substance methamphetamine to the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual and an analysis of a specimen of the child’s or individual’s blood, urine, or other bodily substance indicates the presence of methamphetamine in the body of the child or individual; or
(3) the person injected, ingested, inhaled, or otherwise introduced a controlled substance listed in Penalty Group 1, § 481.102, Health and Safety Code, or Penalty Group 1-B, § 481.1022, Health and Safety Code, into the human body when the person was not in lawful possession of the substance as defined by Section 481.002(24) of that code.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an offense under Subsection (b) is:
(1) a state jail felony if the actor abandoned the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual with intent to return for the child or individual; or
(2) a felony of the third degree if the actor abandoned the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual without intent to return for the child or individual.
(e) An offense under Subsection (b) is a felony of the second degree if the actor abandons the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual under circumstances that a reasonable person would believe would place the child or individual in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.
(f) An offense under Subsection (c) is a state jail felony.
(g) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (c) that the act or omission enables the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual to practice for or participate in an organized athletic event and that appropriate safety equipment and procedures are employed in the event.
(h) It is an exception to the application of this section for abandoning or endangering a child that the actor voluntarily delivered the child to a designated emergency infant care provider under § 262.302, Family Code.
Texas Penal Code 22.041 – Abandoning or Endangering a Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled Individual
Current as of: 2024 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
(a) In this section:
(1) “Abandon” means to leave in any place without providing reasonable and necessary care a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual under circumstances under which no reasonable, similarly situated person would leave a child or individual of that age and ability.
(2) “Child,” “elderly individual,” and “disabled individual” have the meanings assigned by § 22.04.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person, having custody, care, or control of a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual, intentionally abandons the child or individual in any place under circumstances that expose the child or individual to an unreasonable risk of harm.
Attorney's Note
Under the Texas Codes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| State jail felony | between 180 days and 2 years | up to $10,000 |
Terms Used In Texas Penal Code 22.041
- Act: means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary, and includes speech. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Bodily injury: means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying mental state. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Controlled substance: has the meaning assigned by § 481. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Death: includes , for an individual who is an unborn child, the failure to be born alive. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Felony: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by death or confinement in a penitentiary. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Harm: means anything reasonably regarded as loss, disadvantage, or injury, including harm to another person in whose welfare the person affected is interested. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Individual: means a human being who is alive, including an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Omission: means failure to act. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Possession: means actual care, custody, control, or management. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
(c) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence, by act or omission, engages in conduct that places a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.
(c-1) For purposes of Subsection (c), it is presumed that a person engaged in conduct that places a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment if:
(1) the person manufactured, possessed, or in any way introduced into the body of any person the controlled substance methamphetamine in the presence of the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual;
(2) the person’s conduct related to the proximity or accessibility of the controlled substance methamphetamine to the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual and an analysis of a specimen of the child’s or individual’s blood, urine, or other bodily substance indicates the presence of methamphetamine in the body of the child or individual; or
(3) the person injected, ingested, inhaled, or otherwise introduced a controlled substance listed in Penalty Group 1, § 481.102, Health and Safety Code, or Penalty Group 1-B, § 481.1022, Health and Safety Code, into the human body when the person was not in lawful possession of the substance as defined by Section 481.002(24) of that code.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an offense under Subsection (b) is:
(1) a state jail felony if the actor abandoned the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual with intent to return for the child or individual; or
(2) a felony of the third degree if the actor abandoned the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual without intent to return for the child or individual.
(e) An offense under Subsection (b) is a felony of the second degree if the actor abandons the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual under circumstances that a reasonable person would believe would place the child or individual in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.
(f) An offense under Subsection (c) is a state jail felony.
(g) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (c) that the act or omission enables the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual to practice for or participate in an organized athletic event and that appropriate safety equipment and procedures are employed in the event.
(h) It is an exception to the application of this section for abandoning or endangering a child that the actor voluntarily delivered the child to a designated emergency infant care provider under § 262.302, Family Code.