{"id":26832,"date":"2024-07-29T10:27:34","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T10:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/\/?p=26832"},"modified":"2024-07-29T10:27:34","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T10:27:34","slug":"what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Child Abuse Laws in California"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a critical issue that has plagued every US state for decades now, crimes of child abuse are met with the utmost seriousness throughout the US. California in particular, is extremely strict and actionable with the implementation and enforcement of these laws, showcasing dedication to protecting the youngest, most vulnerable members of our population.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even with the help of the best <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">child abuse defense lawyer San Diego<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has to offer, those accused of these (and related) offenses are looking at an uphill legal battle, due to the very nature and severity of the crime. For these reasons, it is imperative to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/\/domestic-violence\/child-abuse\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gain clarity on what child abuse actually means<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and how it is defined by the California legal system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What counts as child abuse?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In general terms, child abuse can be defined as any intentional act that causes physical, emotional, or psychological damage to a child under the age of 18. Child abuse can take several forms and includes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Physical abuse<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Bodily injury inflicted by other than accidental means (i.e. willful cruelty, corporal punishment, unjustifiable punishment);<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Sexual abuse<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Any sexual activity with a child (i.e fondling, molestation, rape, incest, indecent exposure, exploitation in any way including pornography)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Emotional abuse<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Consistent and deliberate infliction of emotional or mental harm through non-physical mistreatment (i.e. verbal abuse, humiliation, isolation, intimidation, etc.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Neglect<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Failure to provide care, supervision, or basic needs (e.g. food, shelter, education, medical attention, etc.) resulting in harm or potential harm to the child\u2019s well-being or development.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the penal code 273d in California?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above definition is quite broad since it covers many different facets of child abuse, therefore necessitating further delineation, which comes in the form of the California Penal Code PC 273d. This piece of legislation specifically deals with inflicting corporal punishment on a child and defines the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/\/news\/punishment-prison-jail-child-abuse-california\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">crime of physical child abuse and related sentences<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, stating:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAny person who <\/span><b>willfully<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> inflicts upon a <\/span><b>child <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">any <\/span><b>cruel or inhuman corporal punishment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or an injury resulting in a <\/span><b>traumatic condition<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&amp;division=&amp;title=7.&amp;part=2.&amp;chapter=4.5.&amp;article=1.\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">subdivision (h) of Section 1170<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for two, four, or six years, or in a county jail for not more than one year, by a fine of up to six thousand dollars, or by both that fine and imprisonment.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the purposes of understanding the crime itself, we\u2019ll focus on the first part of the definition to extrapolate the elements of the offense:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><b>Willfully<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d: The act was committed on purpose, even if there was no intention to break the law.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><b>Child<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d: A person under the age of 18; a minor;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><b>Cruel or inhuman<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d: Performed without mercy or rationale; exceeding reasonable or acceptable disciplinary standards;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>\u201cCorporal punishment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d: Using physical force that results in bodily harm;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><b>Traumatic physical condition<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d: Any type of bodily injury or harm caused by the usage of physical force (regardless of the severity).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are examples of child abuse?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, here are some real-life examples to help us even better understand which acts can be considered physical child abuse under CA PC 273d:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Hitting<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a child with either hands or objects (e.g. belts, sticks, etc.);<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Burning<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a child with cigarettes, hot water, or any other extremely hot object;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Shaking<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> an infant and causing \u201cshaken baby syndrome\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Punching<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a child in the stomach, chest, face, or any other part of the body;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Kicking<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a child hard enough to cause fractures, bruising, or internal injuries;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Choking<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or causing any type of breathing difficulties to a child;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Forcing physical labor<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that is beyond the child\u2019s capacity, leading to injuries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where can I find a specialist <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">child abuse defense lawyer near me in San Diego<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re accused of child abuse or facing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/\/news\/what-spouse-battery-definition-meaning-example\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">charges for any other domestic violence crime<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/\/news\/what-penal-code-spousal-battery-punishment\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">spousal assault and battery<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or abuse of the elderly, there\u2019s no one better to turn to for legal aid North, South, or East of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mission_Bay_(San_Diego)\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mission Bay<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than Monder Criminal Lawyer Group.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With us, you\u2019ll have an experienced and strategic team of veritable specialists, dedicated to spearheading your case with relentless fervor to give you the best possible shot at a positive outcome. Reach out to us today and let us fight for your liberty!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a critical issue that has plagued every US state for decades now, crimes of child abuse are met with the utmost seriousness throughout the US. California in particular, is extremely strict and actionable with the implementation and enforcement of these laws, showcasing dedication to protecting the youngest, most vulnerable members of our population.\u00a0 Even [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Child Abuse Laws in California | Defense Lawyer in San Diego<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What does California law consider \u201cchild abuse\u201d &amp; which piece of legislation governs the process? Find everything you need to know right here!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Child Abuse Laws in California | Defense Lawyer in San Diego\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What does California law consider \u201cchild abuse\u201d &amp; which piece of legislation governs the process? Find everything you need to know right here!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Monder Criminal Lawyer Group CA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-29T10:27:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/San-Diego-child-abuse-defense-lawyer.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Child Abuse Laws in California | Defense Lawyer in San Diego","description":"What does California law consider \u201cchild abuse\u201d & which piece of legislation governs the process? Find everything you need to know right here!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Child Abuse Laws in California | Defense Lawyer in San Diego","og_description":"What does California law consider \u201cchild abuse\u201d & which piece of legislation governs the process? Find everything you need to know right here!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/","og_site_name":"Monder Criminal Lawyer Group CA","article_published_time":"2024-07-29T10:27:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/San-Diego-child-abuse-defense-lawyer.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/","url":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/","name":"Child Abuse Laws in California | Defense Lawyer in San Diego","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/San-Diego-child-abuse-defense-lawyer.jpg","datePublished":"2024-07-29T10:27:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7f4616cba715a487c1605b93af866a74"},"description":"What does California law consider \u201cchild abuse\u201d & which piece of legislation governs the process? Find everything you need to know right here!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/San-Diego-child-abuse-defense-lawyer.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/San-Diego-child-abuse-defense-lawyer.jpg","width":1000,"height":667,"caption":"San Diego child abuse defense lawyer"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/what-child-abuse-law-california-pc-273d\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Understanding Child Abuse Laws in California"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/","name":"Monder Criminal Lawyer Group CA","description":"Just another WordPress site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7f4616cba715a487c1605b93af866a74","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1bcef7789a7964d3c26ef1f432360330493f8432ad76de0170d901f2e19946d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1bcef7789a7964d3c26ef1f432360330493f8432ad76de0170d901f2e19946d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26832"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26837,"href":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26832\/revisions\/26837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}