COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA 

Present: Judges Coleman, Willis and Senior Judge Hodges 

Argued at Norfolk, Virginia 

JULIE HARRIS, S/K/A 

 JULIE JOY HARRIS 

 MEMORANDUM OPINION* BY 

v. Record No. 1201-96-1 JUDGE WILLIAM H. HODGES 

 JUNE 17, 1997 

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA 

FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF HAMPTON 

Wilford Taylor, Jr., Judge 

 Charles E. Haden for appellant. 

 Leah A. Darron, Assistant Attorney General 

(James S. Gilmore, III, Attorney General, on 

brief), for appellee. 

 Julie Harris appeals the decision of the circuit court 

finding her guilty of one count of felony child neglect in 

violation of Code § 18.2-371.1(A). Harris contends that there 

was insufficient evidence to prove that she willfully permitted 

injury to her child. We affirm the decision of the trial court. 

 Code § 18.2-371.1(A) provides: 

 Any parent, guardian, or other person 

responsible for the care of a child under the 

age of eighteen who by willful act or 

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 shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony. 

For purposes of this subsection, "serious

injury" shall include but not be limited to 

(i) disfigurement, (ii) a fracture, (iii) a 

severe burn or laceration, (iv) mutilation, 

(v) maiming, (vi) forced ingestion of 

dangerous substances, or (vii) 

 *Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not 

designated for publication. 
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life-threatening internal injuries. 

 "On appeal, we review the evidence in the light most 

favorable to the Commonwealth, granting to it all reasonable 

inferences fairly deducible therefrom." Martin v. Commonwealth, 

4 Va. App. 438, 443, 358 S.E.2d 415, 418 (1987). So viewed, the 

evidence established that, beginning January 12, 1995, appellant 

was aware that Tyler was suffering from a series of injuries 

while in her husband's care. From January 12, 1995 until 

appellant took the child to the emergency room on February 20, 

1995, appellant's son suffered bruises, tender limbs, and swollen 

lips. X-rays indicated that the three-month-old child had 

incurred five "chip fractures or avulsion fractures" of his arms 

and legs, "caused by rotational wrenching type of injury about 

the joint." The extent of healing of the injuries indicated that 

some had occurred several weeks earlier while others occurred 

within hours or days. 

 Mary Hinkle provided day care for appellant's son three or 

four hours a day, five days a week. Hinkle testified that on 

January 12, 1995, appellant and her husband pointed out a bruise 

on Tyler's head which appellant explained was caused when Tyler 

rolled off a waterbed while in her husband's care. Towards the 

end of January, Hinkle noticed that the child was not using his 

right arm. In mid-February, he screamed when she tried to 

straighten his left leg. During that same period in 

mid-February, the child arrived at day care with a swollen lip. 
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Appellant told Hinkle that her husband did not want her to take 

the child to the emergency room because he was afraid he would be 

put in jail. 

 While appellant contends that the evidence was insufficient 

to prove her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, we find that the 

evidence demonstrated that she knew her son was at risk but, by 

"omission or refusal" to act, allowed the abuse to continue for a 

period of weeks. Inaction when action was necessary to protect 

the health and well-being of her child was culpable and was 

precisely the type of behavior the section was designed to 

criminalize. It was appellant's duty to protect her son from 

abuse which the evidence showed she knew was taking place. 

 Therefore, there was sufficient credible, competent evidence 

to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that, by her willful omission, 

appellant permitted her child to suffer serious injuries, in 

violation of Code § 18.2-371.1(A). 

 For the reasons stated, we affirm the decision of the trial 

court. 

 Affirmed.