H. B. 2458
(By Delegates Kallai, Rowe, Michael,
Everson, Given and Hubbard)
[Introduced January 10, 1996; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article eight-d,
chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to crime;
child abuse resulting in injury; and changing the criminal
penalty.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article eight-d, chapter sixty-one of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8D. CHILD ABUSE.
§61-8D-3. Child abuse resulting in injury; criminal penalties.
(a) If any parent, guardian or custodian shall abuse a child
and by such abuse cause such child bodily injury as such term is
defined in section one, article eight-b of this chapter, then
such parent, guardian or custodian shall be guilty of a felony,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or and imprisoned in
the penitentiary not less than one nor more than five years, or
in the discretion of the court, be confined in the county jail
for not more than one year. or both such fine and imprisonment
or confinement
(b) If any parent, guardian or custodian shall abuse a child
and by such abuse cause said child serious bodily injury as such
term is defined in section one, article eight-b of this chapter,
then such parent, guardian or custodian shall be guilty of a
felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than one thousand nor more than five thousand dollars or and
imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than two nor more than
ten years. or both such fine and imprisonment
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a mandatory
jail sentence for persons convicted of child abuse that results
in bodily injury.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
On page two, section three, line two, following the word
"county", by inserting the words "or regional".