Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 508
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 508.090 (2026)

Definitions for KRS 508.100 to 508.120

✓ current as of May 2026
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The following definitions apply in KRS 508.100 to 508.120 unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Abuse" means the infliction of physical pain, injury, or mental injury, or the deprivation of services by a person which are necessary to maintain the health and welfare of a person, or a situation in which an adult, living alone, is unable to provide or obtain for himself the services which are necessary to maintain his health or welfare. (2) "Physically helpless" and "mentally helpless" means a person who lacks substantial capacity to defend himself or solicit protection from law enforcement agencies. Effective: July 15, 1982 History: Created 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 168, sec. 4, effective July 15, 1982.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 17 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1987–2024 · leading case: Vanhook v. Somerset Health Facilities, LP, 67 F. Supp. 3d 810 (E.D. Ky. 2014).
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Vanhook v. Somerset Health Facilities, LP, 67 F. Supp. 3d 810 (E.D. Ky. 2014). · cites it 18× “Second, Van-hook asserts a negligence per se claim for violation of three criminal statutes found in Kentucky’s Penal Code, KRS § 508.090, KRS § 530.080, and KRS § 506.”
Ratliff v. Commonwealth, 194 S.W.3d 258 (Ky. 2006). · cites it 2× “100(l)(c) states that the offense occurs when a defendant “intentionally abuses” and thereby “[c]auses torture, cruel confinement or cruel punishment” (language that might seem to criminalize a course of conduct rather than a single incident), abuse is defined in KRS 508.090(1)…”
United States v. Vaughan, 58 M.J. 29 (C.A.A.F. 2003). · cites it 2× “” Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 508.090 (1) (1998).”
Peacher v. Commonwealth, 391 S.W.3d 821 (Ky. 2013). · cites it 2× “The instructions defined “abuse,” in accord with KRS 508.090(1), as “the infliction of physical pain, injury, or mental injury, or the deprivation of services by a person which are necessary to maintain the health and welfare of a person.”
Commonwealth v. O'Conner, 372 S.W.3d 855 (Ky. 2012). · cites it 3× “Because I believe that the Commonwealth did not carry its burden of producing evidence that Appellee intentionally abused his children or permitted his children to be abused, under KRS 508.090, I would not reach the second inquiry — i.”
Davis v. Commonwealth, 967 S.W.2d 574 (Ky. 1998). · cites it 2× “" KRS 508.090(1). Although a child under age seven is conclusively presumed incapable of entertaining criminal intent, Thomas v.”
Staples v. Commonwealth, 454 S.W.3d 803 (Ky. 2014). “” KRS 508.090(1). The evidence that the five-month-old Angel suffered broken ribs while in Staples’s care and Staples’s confession to his cellmate that he had squeezed the child’s chest, could have convinced a reasonable juror that intending, at the very least, to cause the…”
Acosta v. Commonwealth, 391 S.W.3d 809 (Ky. 2013). “KRS 508.090(1). . This might not be the result if the jury was given a combination instruction in which both theories are included, though such an instruction may raise unanimity issues.”
Mason v. Commonwealth, 331 S.W.3d 610 (Ky. 2011). “Abuse is defined at KRS 508.090(1), in relevant part, as the “infliction of physical pain .”
Clark v. Kentucky, 229 F. Supp. 2d 718 (E.D. Ky. 2002). “§ 508.090 against defendant Wells in his individual capacity; (4) the following claims are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE: (a)The § 1983 claims based on (i) unlawful seizure of his person, (ii) violation of his substantive due process rights, and (iii) lack of probable cause for…”
Commonwealth v. Chandler, 722 S.W.2d 899 (Ky. 1987). “Criminal abuse is defined in KRS 508.090 and proscribed in KRS 508.100, 110 and 120.”
Commonwealth v. Mitchell, 516 S.W.3d 803 (Ky. 2017). · cites it 2× “5 Further, in Staples , this Court recognized a non-parent “actual custodian’s” duty under KRS 508.090—KRS 508. 120—the Penal Code’s abuse provisions—to protect a child under twelve or a “helpless person” from abuse by others, including a parent.”
Show all 17 citing cases →
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 508.090(1) — 12 cases
Ratliff v. Commonwealth, 194 S.W.3d 258 (Ky. 2006). “100(l)(c) states that the offense occurs when a defendant “intentionally abuses” and thereby “[c]auses torture, cruel confinement or cruel punishment” (language that might seem to criminalize a course of conduct rather than a single incident), abuse is defined in KRS 508.090(1)…”
Peacher v. Commonwealth, 391 S.W.3d 821 (Ky. 2013). “The instructions defined “abuse,” in accord with KRS 508.090(1), as “the infliction of physical pain, injury, or mental injury, or the deprivation of services by a person which are necessary to maintain the health and welfare of a person.”
United States v. Vaughan, 58 M.J. 29 (C.A.A.F. 2003). “” Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 508.090 (1) (1998).”
Davis v. Commonwealth, 967 S.W.2d 574 (Ky. 1998). “" KRS 508.090(1). Although a child under age seven is conclusively presumed incapable of entertaining criminal intent, Thomas v.”
Commonwealth v. O'Conner, 372 S.W.3d 855 (Ky. 2012). “Because I believe that the Commonwealth did not carry its burden of producing evidence that Appellee intentionally abused his children or permitted his children to be abused, under KRS 508.090, I would not reach the second inquiry — i.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 508.090(2) — 1 case
Vanhook v. Somerset Health Facilities, LP, 67 F. Supp. 3d 810 (E.D. Ky. 2014). “Second, Van-hook asserts a negligence per se claim for violation of three criminal statutes found in Kentucky’s Penal Code, KRS § 508.090, KRS § 530.080, and KRS § 506.”
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