New York Consolidated Laws
N.Y. Penal Law § 120.02 (2026)
Reckless assault of a child
✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases:
SyfertCases citing this section
NY-LEGnysenate.gov
Justiaon Justia
CornellLII Search
CasesGoogle Scholar
§ 120.02 Reckless assault of a child. 1. A person is guilty of reckless assault of a child when, being eighteen years of age or more, such person recklessly causes serious physical injury to the brain of a child less than five years old by shaking the child, or by slamming or throwing the child so as to impact the child's head on a hard surface or object. 2. For purposes of subdivision one of this section, the following shall constitute "serious physical injury": a. "serious physical injury" as defined in subdivision ten of section 10.00 of this chapter; or b. extreme rotational cranial acceleration and deceleration and one or more of the following: (i) subdural hemorrhaging; (ii) intracranial hemorrhaging; or (iii) retinal hemorrhaging. Reckless assault of a child is a class D felony.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 24
cases (5 in the last 5 years), 2010–2026 · leading case: People v. Morrison, 78 A.D.3d 1615 (N.Y. App. Div. 2010).
People v. Morrison, 78 A.D.3d 1615 (N.Y. App. Div. 2010). “Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting *1616 him, upon his plea of guilty, of reckless assault of a child (Penal Law § 120.02). Defendant failed to move to withdraw his guilty plea or to vacate the judgment of conviction and thus failed to preserve for our…”
People v. Groth, 71 A.D.3d 1391 (N.Y. App. Div. 2010). “*1392 Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him upon a jury verdict of reckless assault of a child (Penal Law § 120.02 [1]) and assault in the third degree (§ 120.”
People v. Polomaine, 89 A.D.3d 1215 (N.Y. App. Div. 2011). “The conviction of reckless assault of a child required proof that defendant “recklessly cause[d] serious physical injury to the brain of a child less than five years old by shaking the child, or by slamming or throwing the child so as to impact the child’s head on a hard surface…”
People v. Thomas, 46 Misc. 3d 945 (2014). “In reply, defendant argues that the legislative intent behind Penal Law § 120.02 is irrelevant, and that the statute is unconstitutional.”
People v. Stowe, 2025 NY Slip Op 04053 (N.Y. App. Div. 2025). “As relevant here, "[a] person is guilty of reckless assault of a child when, being [18] years of age or more, such person recklessly causes serious physical injury to the brain of a child less than five years old by shaking the child, or by slamming or throwing the child so as…”
People v. Moore, 112 A.D.3d 981 (N.Y. App. Div. 2013). “” Evidence that the severity of the child’s injuries indicated that they were not caused by shaking alone does not require that defendant’s confession be disregarded, but merely provides a basis to infer that defendant did more to the child than he admitted. Viewed in a light…”
People v. Lathrop, 136 A.D.3d 1314 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016). “Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him upon his guilty plea of reckless assault of a child (Penal Law § 120.02 [1]). Contrary to defendant’s contention, the record establishes that he validly waived his right to appeal both orally and in writing before…”
People v. Johnson, 125 A.D.3d 1419 (N.Y. App. Div. 2015). “1, defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him, upon his plea of guilty, of reckless assault of a child (Penal Law § 120.02) in connection with a medical diagnosis determining that the child victim had sustained serious physical injury as a result of shaken baby syndrome.”
People v. Smalls, 2021 NY Slip Op 00685 (N.Y. App. Div. 2021). “Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting him upon a jury verdict of reckless assault of a child (Penal Law § 120.02) and endangering the welfare of a child (§ 260.”
People v. Marsh, 100 A.D.3d 1020 (N.Y. App. Div. 2012). “The defendant was tried on charges of reckless assault of a child (see Penal Law § 120.02) and endangering the welfare of a child (see Penal Law § 260.”
Switkowski, Tina M., People v. (N.Y. App. Div. 2016). “Memorandum: On appeal from a judgment convicting her upon a jury verdict of reckless assault of a child (Penal Law § 120.02 [1]) and reckless assault of a child by a child day care provider (§ 120.”
Lathrop, Kenneth S., People v. (N.Y. App. Div. 2016). “It is hereby ORDERED that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.