Wash. Rev. Code » Title 9A · Chapter 9A.42
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.42.060 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a person is guilty of the crime of abandonment of a dependent person in the first degree if:
(a) The person is the parent of a child, a person entrusted with the physical custody of a child or other dependent person, a person who has assumed the responsibility to provide to a dependent person the basic necessities of life, or a person employed to provide to the child or other dependent person any of the basic necessities of life;
(b) The person recklessly abandons the child or other dependent person; and
(c) As a result of being abandoned, the child or other dependent person suffers great bodily harm.
(2) A parent of a newborn who transfers the newborn to a qualified person at an appropriate location pursuant to RCW 13.34.360 is not subject to criminal liability under this section.
(3) Abandonment of a dependent person in the first degree is a class B felony.
[ 2006 c 228 s 6; 2002 c 331 s 3; 1996 c 302 s 2.]

Notes:

Intent—Effective date—2002 c 331: See notes following RCW 13.34.360.
Severability—1996 c 302: See note following RCW 9A.42.010.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 2010–2010 · leading case: State v. Koch, 237 P.3d 287 (Wash. Ct. App. 2010).
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State v. Koch, 237 P.3d 287 (Wash. Ct. App. 2010). “Criminal mistreatment—recklessness ¶ 34 To convict Koch of first degree criminal mistreatment under RCW 9A.42.060, the State had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he acted recklessly in failing to provide medical care to his father.”
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