COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 108
(By Senators Whitlow, Scott and Anderson)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 2, 1996.]
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A BILL to amend article eight-d, chapter sixty-one of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
three-a, relating to crimes and their punishment; creating
the criminal offense of failing to supervise a child;
providing criminal penalties; and restitution and
affirmative defenses to the offense.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article eight-d, chapter sixty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
three-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8D. CHILD ABUSE.
§61-8D-3a. Failure to supervise a minor child; affirmative
defenses; payment of restitution; warning and suspension of
sentence for first offense; parent effectiveness program in
lieu of fine for second offense; penalties; community
service.
(a) Any parent or court-appointed guardian of a child who is
under the age of eighteen years shall provide said child with
proper supervision. For purposes of this section, "proper
supervision" shall mean exercising reasonable care to ensure that
the child does not commit an act or acts which constitute a
violation of law subjecting the child to adjudication as a
delinquent or a violation of the criminal laws of this state, the
United States or any political subdivision of this state.
Any parent or court-appointed guardian who knowingly fails
or refuses to provide proper supervision to a child who is under
the age of eighteen years shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) In a prosecution of a parent or court-appointed guardian
for failing to provide proper supervision to a child under
subsection (a) of this section it shall be an affirmative defense
that the parent or court-appointed guardian is the victim of the
violation of law by the child or that the parent or court-appointed guardian reported the illegal behavior to the
appropriate authorities upon learning of said illegal behavior.
(c) Except as limited by the provisions of subsection (d) of
this section, a parent or court-appointed guardian convicted of
a violation of subsection (a) of this section may be ordered by
the court to pay restitution to a victim for pecuniary damages
arising from the child's illegal conduct causily related to the
parent or court-appointed guardian's failure to provide proper
supervision where conviction or adjudication as a delinquent
child has occurred.
(d) If a parent or court-appointed guardian convicted of
failing to provide proper supervision to a child under this
section has not been previously been convicted of a violation of
this section, the court shall warn the parent or court-appointed
guardian of the penalty for subsequent convictions of this
section, shall suspend imposition of sentence and may not order
the parent or court-appointed guardian to pay restitution under
the provisions of this section.
(e) If a parent or court-appointed guardian is convicted of
a violation of this section and if the person has no more than
one prior conviction for a violation of this section, the court shall, with the consent of the parent or court-appointed guardian
so convicted, suspend imposition of any sentence and order the
parent or court-appointed guardian and the child to complete a
parent-effectiveness program, and, upon satisfactory completion
of the program, the court shall discharge the parent or court-
appointed guardian without imposing any fine or ordering any
period of community service. If the parent or court-appointed
guardian and the child fail or refuse to successfully complete
the parent-effectiveness program, the court may impose a sentence
authorized by subsection (f) of this section.
(f) A parent or court-appointed guardian convicted of a
third or subsequent violation of this section or a parent or
court-appointed guardian who fails or refuses to satisfactorily
complete a parent-effectiveness program ordered pursuant to a
second conviction under the provisions of this section, shall be
fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one
thousand dollars, or, in the discretion of the court, ordered to
complete a community service program of not more than eighty
hours.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
applicability of any other provision of this code.
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(NOTE: This bill creates the offense of failing to
supervise a child; it provides affirmatives defenses; allows a
court to order payment of restitution; it provides that a court
shall give a warning and suspension of imposition of sentence for
first offense; allows a court to order, for second offense,
parent and child to complete a parent effectiveness program in
lieu of fine; and punishes certain violations by fine of $100.00
to $1,000.00 or community service of not more than eighty hours.
§61-8D-3a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.)