There have been a few stories in the news about child endangerment in Massachusetts. There are a number of different levels of seriousness of this offense, from accidental neglect to serious criminal The most horrifying story was of a woman who threw her newborn baby out a second story window, immediately after it was born at home. According to the Globe, she was charged with reckless endangerment of a child, and assault and battery on a child.
Few child endangerment stories are quite as gruesome or unfathomable as that. More common is the case of the father arrested for OUI with his 2 year old son in the car. In this case, his son was injured in a car accident resulting from the drunk driving incident.
It is even more common for child endangerment charges to be not so reckless or deliberate.
If you leave you children alone unattended for any amount of time, you could be charged with endangerment of a child. Even leaving your kids in the car while you run in the store could be grounds for a child endangerment offense.
Any behavior that causes risk by negligent or careless behavior may qualify, including being impaired on drugs, or having an environment at home that could be considered sufficiently dangerous for kids.
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More on endangerment laws.
