A. Any parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 who by willful act or willful omission or refusal to provide any necessary care for the child's health causes or permits serious injury to the life or health of such child is guilty of a Class 4 felony. For purposes of this subsection, "serious injury" includes but is not limited to (i) disfigurement, (ii) a fracture, (iii) a severe burn or laceration, (iv) mutilation, (v) maiming, (vi) forced ingestion of dangerous substances, and (vii) life-threatening internal injuries. For purposes of this subsection, "willful act or willful omission" includes operating or engaging in the conduct of a child welfare agency as defined in § 63.2-100 or a child day program or home-based child care system as defined in § 22.1-289.02 without first obtaining a license such person knows is required by Subtitle IV (§ 63.2-1700 et seq.) of Title 63.2 or Article 3 (§ 22.1-289.010 et seq.) of Chapter 14.1 of Title 22.1 or after such license has been revoked or has expired and not been renewed.
B. 1. Any parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 whose willful act or omission in the care of such child was so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life is guilty of a Class 6 felony.
2. If a prosecution under this subsection is based solely on the accused parent having left the child at a hospital or emergency medical services agency, it shall be an affirmative defense to prosecution of a parent under this subsection that such parent safely delivered the child within the first 30 days of the child's life to (i) a hospital that provides 24-hour emergency services, (ii) an attended emergency medical services agency that employs emergency medical services personnel, or (iii) a newborn safety device located at and operated by such hospital or emergency medical services agency. In order for the affirmative defense to apply, the child shall be delivered in a manner reasonably calculated to ensure the child's safety.
C. 1. Any parent, guardian, or other person who is 18 years of age or older and is responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 whose willful act or omission causes or enables that child to gain possession of a firearm (i) after having received notice of a preliminary determination pursuant to § 22.1-79.4 that the child poses a threat of violence or physical harm to self or others or (ii) when such parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of the child knows or reasonably should know that such child has charges pending for or has been convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a violent juvenile felony as defined in § 16.1-228 is guilty of a Class 5 felony.
2. No person shall be subject to arrest or prosecution for a violation of this subsection (i) related to clause (i) of subdivision 1 after such person has received notice that the threat assessment team that made such preliminary determination has concluded that the child does not indicate a threat of violence or physical harm to self or others or that any case or review opened or conducted by that threat assessment team as a result of such preliminary determination has been closed or (ii) related to clause (ii) of subdivision 1 after such person has received notice that any pending charge for a violent juvenile felony has been dismissed or a nolle prosequi has been entered.
3. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution for a violation of this subsection if the parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child caused or enabled such child to gain possession of a firearm while in a dwelling because of a reasonable belief that he or such child was in imminent danger of bodily injury.
D. Any parent, guardian, or other person having care, custody, or control of a minor child who in good faith is under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination shall not, for that reason alone, be considered in violation of this section.
1981, c. 568; 1988, c. 228; 1990, c. 638; 1993, c. 628; 2003, cc. 816, 822; 2006, c. 935; 2015, cc. 502, 503; 2016, c. 705; 2022, cc. 80, 81; 2023, c. 128; 2024, cc. 161, 162; 2026, c. 917.
Notes of Decisions
Jones v. Com., 636 S.E.2d 403 (Va. 2006).
· cites it 34× “Unlike Code § 18.2-371.1(A), which requires an actual injury for a conviction, subsection (B)(1) "does not require that a child actually suffer serious injury as a result of a defendant's acts or omissions.”
Ashley Jennifer White v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 804 S.E.2d 317 (Va. Ct. App. 2017).
· cites it 30× “But it would not benefit the general good of the community to expand Code § 18.2-371.1’s requirement of “willful” conduct to include a parent’s failure to protect a child from an undiscovered and unknown danger.”
Barrett v. Com., 597 S.E.2d 104 (Va. 2004).
· cites it 24× “In a jury trial held in the Circuit Court of York County, Amy Jean Barrett (Barrett) 1 was convicted pursuant to Code § 18.2-371.1(A) of a Class 4 felony for the criminal neglect of her ten-month-old son, Joshua, resulting in his death.”
Tiffany Stevens Miller v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 769 S.E.2d 706 (Va. Ct. App. 2015).
· cites it 20× “2d at 9-10 (considering who qualifies as a “person responsible for the care of a child” in the context of who may be punished for the felony of child abuse or neglect under Code § 18.2-371.1); Krampen, 29 Va.App. at 166-69 , 510 S.”
Leslie Itutu Camp v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 813 S.E.2d 10 (Va. Ct. App. 2018).
· cites it 26× “Appellant, Leslie Itutu Camp, was convicted of two counts of felony child neglect pursuant to Code § 18.2-371.1(B).1 She contends the evidence was insufficient to support her convictions.”
Barrett (Clark) v. Com., 585 S.E.2d 355 (Va. Ct. App. 2003).
· cites it 26× “Code § 18.2-371.1 provides as follows, in relevant part: A.”
Commonwealth v. Duncan, 593 S.E.2d 210 (Va. 2004).
· cites it 14× “In this appeal, we consider whether the Court of Appeals erred in reversing a circuit court’s holding that a defendant’s acts and omissions in the care of his six-month-old son were “so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life” under former Code…”
Morris v. Com., 636 S.E.2d 436 (Va. 2006).
· cites it 24× “The sole issue in this appeal is whether the evidence is sufficient to support a mother's conviction of felonious child neglect in violation of Code § 18.2-371.1(B). The accused mother, Samantha Lynn Morris, contends that the evidence is insufficient, as a matter of law, because…”
Crystal Ann Coomer v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 797 S.E.2d 787 (Va. Ct. App. 2017).
· cites it 18× “On February 10, 2016, the trial court found Coomer guilty of child endangerment, in violation of Code § 18.2-371.1, a Class 6 felony. On May 24, 2014, the trial court denied Coomer’s motion to set aside the verdict and sentenced her to three years of imprisonment, with all three…”
Wood v. Commonwealth, 701 S.E.2d 810 (Va. Ct. App. 2010).
· cites it 12× “Appellant argues that Code § 18.2-371.1 contemplates current or past actions, but not future conduct.”
Ferguson v. Commonwealth, 658 S.E.2d 692 (Va. Ct. App. 2008).
· cites it 16× “2-51 and felony *694 child neglect in violation of Code § 18.2-371.1(B). Appellant contends the trial court convicted him for malicious wounding on an indictment that charged unlawful wounding, and he requests a new trial for unlawful wounding.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-371.1(A) — 79 cases
Ashley Jennifer White v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 804 S.E.2d 317 (Va. Ct. App. 2017).
“But it would not benefit the general good of the community to expand Code § 18.2-371.1’s requirement of “willful” conduct to include a parent’s failure to protect a child from an undiscovered and unknown danger.”
Barrett v. Com., 597 S.E.2d 104 (Va. 2004).
“In a jury trial held in the Circuit Court of York County, Amy Jean Barrett (Barrett) 1 was convicted pursuant to Code § 18.2-371.1(A) of a Class 4 felony for the criminal neglect of her ten-month-old son, Joshua, resulting in his death.”
Tiffany Stevens Miller v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 769 S.E.2d 706 (Va. Ct. App. 2015).
“2d at 9-10 (considering who qualifies as a “person responsible for the care of a child” in the context of who may be punished for the felony of child abuse or neglect under Code § 18.2-371.1); Krampen, 29 Va.App. at 166-69 , 510 S.”
Barrett (Clark) v. Com., 585 S.E.2d 355 (Va. Ct. App. 2003).
“Code § 18.2-371.1 provides as follows, in relevant part: A.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-371.1(B) — 54 cases
Morris v. Com., 636 S.E.2d 436 (Va. 2006).
“The sole issue in this appeal is whether the evidence is sufficient to support a mother's conviction of felonious child neglect in violation of Code § 18.2-371.1(B). The accused mother, Samantha Lynn Morris, contends that the evidence is insufficient, as a matter of law, because…”
Barrett (Clark) v. Com., 585 S.E.2d 355 (Va. Ct. App. 2003).
“Code § 18.2-371.1 provides as follows, in relevant part: A.”
Ashley Jennifer White v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 804 S.E.2d 317 (Va. Ct. App. 2017).
“But it would not benefit the general good of the community to expand Code § 18.2-371.1’s requirement of “willful” conduct to include a parent’s failure to protect a child from an undiscovered and unknown danger.”
Barrett v. Com., 597 S.E.2d 104 (Va. 2004).
“In a jury trial held in the Circuit Court of York County, Amy Jean Barrett (Barrett) 1 was convicted pursuant to Code § 18.2-371.1(A) of a Class 4 felony for the criminal neglect of her ten-month-old son, Joshua, resulting in his death.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-371.1(B)(1) — 60 cases
Jones v. Com., 636 S.E.2d 403 (Va. 2006).
“Unlike Code § 18.2-371.1(A), which requires an actual injury for a conviction, subsection (B)(1) "does not require that a child actually suffer serious injury as a result of a defendant's acts or omissions.”
Leslie Itutu Camp v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 813 S.E.2d 10 (Va. Ct. App. 2018).
“Appellant, Leslie Itutu Camp, was convicted of two counts of felony child neglect pursuant to Code § 18.2-371.1(B).1 She contends the evidence was insufficient to support her convictions.”
Crystal Ann Coomer v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 797 S.E.2d 787 (Va. Ct. App. 2017).
“On February 10, 2016, the trial court found Coomer guilty of child endangerment, in violation of Code § 18.2-371.1, a Class 6 felony. On May 24, 2014, the trial court denied Coomer’s motion to set aside the verdict and sentenced her to three years of imprisonment, with all three…”
Ferguson v. Commonwealth, 658 S.E.2d 692 (Va. Ct. App. 2008).
“2-51 and felony *694 child neglect in violation of Code § 18.2-371.1(B). Appellant contends the trial court convicted him for malicious wounding on an indictment that charged unlawful wounding, and he requests a new trial for unlawful wounding.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-371.1(B)(2) — 2 cases
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-371.1(a) — 1 case
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