(A) Any person 18 years of age or older, including the parent of any child, who:
(1) Willfully contributes to, encourages, or causes any act, omission, or condition that renders a child delinquent, in need of services, in need of supervision, or abused or neglected; or
(2) Engages in consensual sexual intercourse with a child 15 or older not his or her spouse, child, or grandchild.
(B) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ABUSED OR NEGLECTED CHILD. Any child:
(a) Whose parents or other person responsible for his or her care creates or inflicts, threatens to create or inflict, or allows to be created or inflicted upon such child a physical or mental injury by other than accidental means, or creates a substantial risk of death, disfigurement, or impairment of bodily or mental functions;
(b) Whose parents or other person responsible for his or her care neglects or refuses to provide care necessary for his or her health; however, no child who in good faith is under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination shall, for that reason alone, be considered to be an ABUSED OR NEGLECTED CHILD;
(c) Whose parents or other person responsible for his or her care abandons such child;
(d) Whose parents or other person responsible for his or her care commits or allows to be committed any sexual act upon a child in violation of the law; or
(e) Who is without parental care or guardianship caused by the unreasonable absence or the mental or physical incapacity of the child’s parent, guardian, legal custodian, or other person standing in loco parentis.
ADULT. A person 18 years of age or older.
CHILD IN NEED OF SERVICES. A child whose behavior, conduct, or condition presents or results in a serious threat to the well-being and physical safety of the child; however, no child who in good faith is under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination shall for that reason alone be considered to be a CHILD IN NEED OF SERVICES, nor shall any child who habitually remains away from or habitually deserts or abandons his or her family as a result of what the court or the local child protective services unit determines to be incidents of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in the home be considered a CHILD IN NEED OF SERVICES for that reason alone. However, to find that a child falls within these provisions, the conduct complained of must present a clear and substantial danger to the child’s life or health; or the child or his or her family is in need of treatment, rehabilitation, or services not presently being received, and the intervention of the court is essential to provide the treatment, rehabilitation, or services needed by the child or his or her family.
CHILD IN NEED OF SUPERVISION.
(a) A child who, while subject to compulsory school attendance, is habitually and without justification absent from school, and the child has been offered an adequate opportunity to receive the benefit of any and all educational services and programs that are required to be provided by law and that meet the child’s particular educational needs, and the school system from which the child is absent or other appropriate agency has made a reasonable effort to effect the child’s regular attendance without success; or
(b) A child who, without reasonable cause and without the consent of his or her parent, lawful custodian, or placement authority, remains away from or habitually deserts or abandons his or her family or lawful custodian, or escapes or remains away without proper authority from a residential care facility in which he or she has been placed by the court, and such conduct presents a clear and substantial danger to the child’s life or health; the child or his or her family is in need of treatment, rehabilitation, or services not presently being received; and the intervention of the court is essential to provide the treatment, rehabilitation, or services needed by the child or his or her family.
CHILD, JUVENILE, or MINOR. A person less than 18 years of age.
(1998 Code, § 38-156) Penalty, see § 134.99
Statutory reference:
Similar provisions, see VA Code § 18.2-371