Legal Question in Criminal Law in Arizona

Hi i am 28 years old with a wife and 4 kids.Well my youngest daughter J recently walked out the house and was gone for 3 hours but i was to blame. This seriously was a mistake because first im not a bad dad i take care of my kids and always know were there at! Heres the story- Me and my wife and daughter went to church just at normal as any other sunday,we leave church around 1:00 we go to eat at a bar-b-q restaurant then at 3:00 we get home close to around 4:00. A day prior i bought this new game for my ps3 so i was axious to play it well we get home and my wife decide to slleep since she works night shift. Well at the same time i put J my daughter to sleep with a bottle cause she was showing signs of sleppiness so i turn her tv on then cover her then crack her door since were ill be sitting in the living i can see her room(keep in ming all 3 bother kids are with my their grandparents also J is very activew shes always running sort of hyper so theres no missing her ) well i crack her door and walk down the hall.(also keep in mind this day was windy so we decided to open doors and windows and turn the AC off. The front door was open but with the screen door open. So as im going into the living room my wifes calls me and tells me to get the alarm and connect it and set the time i had to get it under the bed. So i was there for at least 3 minutes well when i go out to the living room the screen door is banging open and since its windy i find it odd since i had it closed. well since im going to play my game i close all doors and play my game.I looked down the hall and J's door look undisturbed and showed no alarm of why i should assume any thing wrong. One hour later i get up and check up on J and shes not in her room so i check my room were my wifes at and i see my wife and a hump were a baby could be i assumed the baby walked to uor bedroom and went to sleep with my wife keep in mind shes known to not want to sleep in her bed well at 830 alarm goes off and i wake up my wife and alarmed not to find my daughter then i went in panic mood looking around my house and then i went outside calling her name. on the side of the house we have her toys in a pile since shes plays outside with supervision when we go outside. i noticed the toys scaterd like if she was playing cause hours before in the morning i put them away neatly i found a neighbor that said police picked up a lil girl walking. well my guess is when i was fixing the alarm she walked out her room went to the living room looking for me noticed the door open opened it and i walked out and closed the door this was a honest mistake i would never do this to my daughter! pls help my charge is child abuse per domestic class 6 felony i have 2 jobs support my family im not guilty right what should i do? what bwill happen?


Asked on 10/25/11, 1:34 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
David Cantor Law Offices of David M Cantor

If you are charged with a class 6 felony count of child abuse the state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that under circumstances other than those likely to produce death or serious physical injury you, with criminal negligence, placed the child in a situation where her heath was endangered. This is discussed in A.R.S. 13-3623.

Depending on whether you have any prior felony convictions on your record will depend on what sentencing range you are exposed to. If you have no prior felony convictions you are probation eligible however could receive up to one year in jail as a term of probation.

If you have the financial resources to retain an attorney to assist you with this case you should. If not, you will be appointed an attorney. Good luck.

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Answered on 10/25/11, 2:03 pm
Kaitlin Verdura Verdura Law Group PLLC

To add to Mr. Cantor's answer, "Criminal negligence" means, with respect to a result or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, that a person fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that the failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A.R.S. 13-105. The state must prove that you acted with criminal negligence beyond a reasonable doubt.

Best of luck!

http://verduralaw.com

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Answered on 10/25/11, 4:38 pm


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