I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3366

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide penalties for child

endangerment and abuse in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 26, 1993

Mr. ORTON (for himself and Mrs. SCHROEDER) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide penalties

for child endangerment and abuse in the special maritime

and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Endangerment

5 and Abuse Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. CHILD ENDANGERMENT AND ABUSE.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 110 of title 18, United

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

9 following:
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1 ‘‘§ 2259. Child endangerment and abuse

2 ‘‘(a) Whoever, in the special maritime and territorial

3 jurisdiction of the United States—

4 ‘‘(1) inflicts any physical injury upon a minor;

5 or

6 ‘‘(2) having the care or custody of a minor, per7 mits another to inflict any physical injury upon that

8 minor;

9 shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this

10 section.

11 ‘‘(b) The punishment for an offense under this sec12 tion is—

13 ‘‘(1) if the injury is a serious physical injury

14 and the conduct required for the offense is commit15 ted—

16 ‘‘(A) intentionally or knowingly, a fine

17 under this title or imprisonment for not more

18 than 20 years, or both;

19 ‘‘(B) recklessly, a fine under this title or

20 imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or

21 both; or

22 ‘‘(C) with criminal negligence, a fine under

23 this title or imprisonment for not more than 5

24 years, or both; and
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1 ‘‘(2) if the injury is other than a serious phys2 ical injury and the conduct required for the offense

3 is committed—

4 ‘‘(A) intentionally or knowingly, a fine

5 under this title or imprisonment for not more

6 than one year, or both;

7 ‘‘(B) recklessly, a fine under this title or

8 imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or

9 both; or

10 ‘‘(C) with criminal negligence, a fine under

11 this title or imprisonment for not more than 3

12 months, or both.

13 ‘‘(c) As used in this section—

14 ‘‘(1) the term ‘physical injury’ means an injury

15 to or condition of a minor that impairs the physical

16 condition of the minor, including—

17 ‘‘(A) a bruise or other contusion of the

18 skin;

19 ‘‘(B) a minor laceration or abrasion;

20 ‘‘(C) failure to thrive or malnutrition; and

21 ‘‘(D) any other condition which imperils

22 the child’s health or welfare [and which is not

23 a serious physical injury as defined in this sec24 tion]; and
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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘serious physical injury’ means

2 any physical injury or set of injuries which seriously

3 impairs the child’s health, or which involves physical

4 torture or causes serious emotional harm to the

5 child, or which involves a substantial risk of death

6 to the child, including—

7 ‘‘(A) fracture of any bone or bones;

8 ‘‘(B) intracranial bleeding, swelling or con9 tusion of the brain, whether caused by blows,

10 shaking, or causing the child’s head to impact

11 with an object or surface;

12 ‘‘(C) any burn, including burns inflicted by

13 hot water, or those caused by placing a hot ob14 ject upon the skin or body of the child;

15 ‘‘(D) any injury caused by use of a deadly

16 or dangerous weapon;

17 ‘‘(E) any combination of 2 or more phys18 ical injuries inflicted by the same person, either

19 at the same time or on different occasions;

20 ‘‘(F) any damage to internal organs of the

21 body;

22 ‘‘(G) any conduct toward a child which re23 sults in severe emotional harm, severe devel24 opmental delay or retardation, or severe impair25 ment of the child’s ability to function;
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1 ‘‘(H) any injury which creates a permanent

2 disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment

3 of the function of a bodily member, limb, or

4 organ;

5 ‘‘(I) any conduct which causes a child to

6 cease breathing, even if resuscitation is success7 ful following the conduct; or

8 ‘‘(J) any conduct which results in starva9 tion or failure to thrive or malnutrition that

10 jeopardizes the child’s life.’’.

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

12 at the beginning of chapter 110 of title 18, United States

13 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new

14 item:

‘‘2259. Child endangerment and abuse.’’.

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