Or. Rev. Stat. » Oregon Revised Statutes
Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 163.535 (2026)

Abandonment of a child

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section ORSoregonlegislature.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

      163.535 Abandonment of a child. (1) A person commits the crime of abandonment of a child if, being a parent, lawful guardian or other person lawfully charged with the care or custody of a child under 15 years of age, the person deserts the child in any place with intent to abandon it.

      (2) Abandonment of a child is a Class C felony.

      (3) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of violating subsection (1) of this section that the child was left in accordance with ORS 418.017. [1971 c.743 §173; 2001 c.597 §2]

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases, 1975–2018 · leading case: Burnette v. Wahl, 588 P.2d 1105 (Or. 1978).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Burnette v. Wahl, 588 P.2d 1105 (Or. 1978). · cites it 20× “She has abandoned plaintiff by deserting the child with intent to abandon * * * and with intent to abdicate all responsibility for * * * care and raising, in violation of ORS 163.535.[ [2] ] "4. She has neglected the plaintiff by negligently leaving * * * unattended in or at a…”
State v. Berry, 429 P.3d 1011 (Or. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 5× “115 (1)(c), and child abandonment, ORS 163.535. We recognize that our analysis of those statutes requires us to consider laws that were enacted well after the legislature enacted the definition of "dependent person," which has remained unchanged since 1981, and that we typically…”
State v. Sparks, 340 P.3d 688 (Or. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 3× “545, was passed as part of the 1971 overhaul of the Oregon Criminal Code, along with other relevant provisions: ORS 163.535, “Abandonment of a child,” and ORS 163.”
Ibarra v. Holder, Jr., 736 F.3d 903 (10th Cir. 2013). “2d 358, 362 (1993) (explaining that “negligently” in § 30-6-1(C) means criminal negligence); Oregon: Or.Rev.Stat. §§ 163.535, 163.545, 163.547, 163.”
Zockert v. Fanning, 800 P.2d 773 (Or. 1990). “555 (criminal non-support); ORS 163.535 (child abandonment). Finally, there is a public interest in preserving the integrity of families, for the benefit of society and the child, which calls for persuasion at the clear and convincing level before parental status can be legally…”
State v. Laemoa, 533 P.2d 370 (Or. Ct. App. 1975). · cites it 4× “We now turn our attention to the central problem: Did the acts of defendant constitute the crime of child abandonment as defined in ORS 163.535? Defendant contends that the term “deserts * * * with intent to abandon” as used in the above statute means (1) a willful act of…”
Matter of Marriage of Haxton & Haxton, 705 P.2d 721 (Or. 1985). “Parental support obligations toward minor children after dissolution are addressed in ORS 107.”
State v. Barr, 354 So. 2d 1344 (La. 1978). “00 (1967); Ore.Rev.Stat. § 163.535 (1971); S.C.Code of 1976 § 20-7-30; Tenn.”
State v. Schwarz, 208 P.3d 971 (Or. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “Laemoa, 20 Or App 516, 519-20 , 533 P2d 370 (1975), a case in which this court construed the statute establishing the crime of child abandonment, ORS 163.535, which applies when a parent, guardian, or other person charged with the care or custody of a child “deserts the child in…”
State v. Bobkiewicz, 532 P.2d 256 (Or. Ct. App. 1975). · cites it 2× “She waived a jury and was convicted by the court of abandonment of a child (ORS 163.535) and also of criminal nonsupport (ORS 163.”
State v. Malm, 401 P.3d 294 (Or. Ct. App. 2017). “makes written findings by clear and convincing evidence that granting the motion would not be in the best interests of justice, the court shall grant the motion and enter an order as provided in subsection (3) of this section if the defendant has been convicted of one of the…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 163.535(1) — 3 cases
State v. Sparks, 340 P.3d 688 (Or. Ct. App. 2014). “545, was passed as part of the 1971 overhaul of the Oregon Criminal Code, along with other relevant provisions: ORS 163.535, “Abandonment of a child,” and ORS 163.”
State v. Berry, 429 P.3d 1011 (Or. Ct. App. 2018). “115 (1)(c), and child abandonment, ORS 163.535. We recognize that our analysis of those statutes requires us to consider laws that were enacted well after the legislature enacted the definition of "dependent person," which has remained unchanged since 1981, and that we typically…”
State v. Bobkiewicz, 532 P.2d 256 (Or. Ct. App. 1975). “She waived a jury and was convicted by the court of abandonment of a child (ORS 163.535) and also of criminal nonsupport (ORS 163.”
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.