Child Abuse

Wais Azami is a great criminal attorney who routinely defends against charges such as “child abuse” in California. Mr. Azami has years of experience as one of the OC’s top criminal defense lawyers. We specially cater to the residents of Garden Grove, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Westminster, Tustin and Huntington Beach. We are centrally-located to all courts in OC.

California Penal Code 273(d) defines the crime of child abuse as:

willfully inflicting on a child “cruel or inhuman corporal punishment or an injury resulting in a traumatic condition.” It’s a wobbler in California. This offense can be charged as misdemeanor or a felony. There can be a charge for every child and every incident as a separate count.

A few examples of child abuse are:

• Spanking or slapping a child hard enough to leave a mark
• Slapping a child for behavioral problems
• Hitting a child with a belt harder than is reasonable in order to discipline

Defenses to charges of child abuse under PC 273(d):

• The accusations or allegations are false,
• The child’s injuries were caused by something other than abuse,
• The defendant was not the one who caused the injuries,
• The defendant was acting within his/her legal right to discipline the child, and/or
• The injury was the due to an accident.

Penalties for charges of child abuse under PC 273(d):

The penalties will largely be determined by the facts of the alleged offense, and the defendant’s any criminal history. The judge may also add more terms to the penalties below such as drug testing, random police/CPS visits to child and other such terms.

Misdemeanor charges of child abuse under PC 273(d):

• Up to one 1 year in county jail, and/or
• Fine of up to $6,000
• One year of anger management classes (52 weeks)
• Immigration Consequences
• Possible loss of government assistance programs

Felony charges of child abuse under PC 273(d):

• 2, 4 or 6 years in prison (additional 4 years if the defendant has a prior felony child abuse conviction within the preceding 10 years), and/or
• Fine of up to $6,000
• Immigration Consequences
• Possible loss of government assistance programs
• Loss of firearm(s)
• One year of anger management classes (52 weeks)

California Penal Code Section 273d:

This code section defines the elements of the crime of child abuse, along with the penalties.

Have you been accused of child abuse charges?

Call the Law Offices of Wais Azami at (714) 321-9999. Or schedule a *free consultation with our child abuse defense lawyer in Orange County here. We will generate a defense plan which aims to get the charges dismissed, reduced, and/or the consequences mitigated.