Sen. Buck Newton (R-Greene) presents a bill expanding the scope of felony child abuse laws.
Legislators on the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill Tuesday that expands the scope of North Carolina’s felony child abuse laws.
House Bill 748 would make it a Class D felony for a person caring for a child to commit — or allow someone else to commit — a sexual act on that minor. It would also create a B2 felony offense — in the same class as manslaughter, burglary and drug trafficking — for “routinely inflicting physical injury” on a child and depriving a minor of the food, clothing, shelter or physical care they need to survive.
“The overall problem is that when a child is tortured, it’s not usually a one-time serious assault,” said Sen. Buck Newton (R-Greene). “Rather, it’s small injuries, deprivations, over time, which cause serious harm when repeated.”
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The bill passed the House at the end of April.
Before the bill passed out of committee Sen. Michael Lazzara (R-Onslow) amended the proposal to add the language from Senate Bill 360, which modifies victim and sex offender registry laws, and create a new crime for causing or permitting a minor to be exposed to a controlled substance.
“Basically, if a child ingest the drugs and it causes physical injury or bodily injury, it creates some Class E through C felonies, and also proximate cause of death will cause a B1 felony,” said Lazzara.
Legislators sent the bill to the Senate Rules Committee.
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