Reno Woman Arrested for Child Abuse
Last week a 43-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly kidnapping a 9-year-old boy who was riding his scooter on a Reno Street. After neighbors reported the boy's screaming from the woman's apartment, she was booked at the Washoe County Jail and will likely be charged with kidnapping, burglary, and violating Nevada child abuse laws. The boy is reportedly fine.
Nevada child abuse laws make it a crime to willfully cause or permit a child to undergo physical, emotional, or sexual abuse or to abandon or neglect them. Allegations of child abuse are usually investigated by Child Protective Services, who notify law enforcement if they believe abuse has occurred. A person cannot be convicted of child abuse if they did not intend to cause or let the abuse happen.
The penalties for violating Nevada child abuse laws turn on a variety of factors, including whether the abuse was willful, whether substantial harm occurred, the child's age, whether the accused is a repeat offender, and whether the harm was sexual. Depending on the facts of the case, child abuse can be punished as anything from a gross misdemeanor with up to a year in jail to a serious felony carrying life in prison. Convictions for child abuse can never be sealed from criminal records.
For more on this story, go to: http://www.rgj.com/article/20100428/NEWS01/100428031/1321/news.