Legislation Introduced Proposing Reduction in Prison Sentence, Class Felony Designation for Certain Child Abuse Crimes
Legislation introduced this week would reduce the mandatory sentence of 5 years imprisonment to 3 years for certain aggravated forms of child abuse in the second degree. House Amendment 1 to House Bill 182 also reduces child abuse in the first degree to a class B felony rather than class A but imposes a mandatory 5-year sentence. Finally, the new offense of child torture is reduced from a class B to a class C felony. The primary sponsor of the bill is 31st District Representative Sean Lynn.
See the parent bill (HB 182 -HA 1) below — Bill Detail – Delaware General Assembly
6/1/23Primary Sponsor:
Additional Sponsor(s):
Sen. Gay, Townsend
Rep. Dorsey WalkerCo-Sponsor(s):
Sen. Hansen, Hoffner, Mantzavinos, Poore, Richardson, Sturgeon
Reps. Heffernan, Romer, K. WilliamsLong Title:
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11, TITLE 13, TITLE 16, AND TITLE 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CHILD ABUSE.Original Synopsis:
Sections 1 through 6 of this Act revise the State’s existing child abuse laws as follows: (1) Revises Child Abuse in the Third Degree by removing extraneous language and redesignating it as Child Abuse in the Fourth Degree. (2) Revises Child Abuse in the Second Degree by redesignating it as Child Abuse in the Third Degree and making it a class D felony. (3) Revises Child Abuse in the First Degree by removing extraneous language, adding a sentence enhancement for certain aggravating factors, and redesignating it as Child Abuse in the Second Degree. (4) Creates a new crime of Child Abuse in the First Degree, a class A felony, when a person intentionally or recklessly causes serious physical injury to a child and that injury causes permanent disfigurement, permanent impairment of health, or permanent loss or impairment of a bodily organ. (5) Creates a new crime of Child Torture, a class B felony. (6) Creates a new crime of Continuous Child Abuse when a person intentionally or recklessly engages in 3 or more acts of child abuse or child torture over a period of time not less than 3 weeks in duration. Sections 7 through 9 and 11 through 14 of this Act make conforming amendments to the Delaware Code based on the revisions made by Sections 1 through 6 of this Act. Section 10 of this Act designates Child Abuse in the First Degree and Child Abuse in the Second Degree as violent felonies.
