Source: https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/2010/title-97/5/97-5-39
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 19:46:35+00:00

Document:
Justia US Law US Codes and Statutes Mississippi Code 2010 Mississippi Code TITLE 97 - CRIMES Chapter 5 - Offenses Affecting Children. 97-5-39 - Contributing to the neglect or delinquency of a child; felonious abuse and/or battery of a child.
Chapter 5 - Offenses Affecting Children.
97-5-39 - Contributing to the neglect or delinquency of a child; felonious abuse and/or battery of a child.
§ 97-5-39. Contributing to the neglect or delinquency of a child; felonious abuse and/or battery of a child.
(1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any parent, guardian or other person who willfully commits any act or omits the performance of any duty, which act or omission contributes to or tends to contribute to the neglect or delinquency of any child or which act or omission results in the abuse of any child, as defined in Section 43-21-105(m) of the Youth Court Law, or who knowingly aids any child in escaping or absenting himself from the guardianship or custody of any person, agency or institution, or knowingly harbors or conceals, or aids in harboring or concealing, any child who has absented himself without permission from the guardianship or custody of any person, agency or institution to which the child shall have been committed by the youth court shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment not to exceed one (1) year in jail, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(b) If the child's deprivation of necessary food, clothing, shelter, health care or supervision appropriate to the child's age results in substantial harm to the child's physical, mental or emotional health, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five (5) years or to payment of a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both.
(c) A parent, legal guardian or other person who knowingly permits the continuing physical or sexual abuse of a child is guilty of neglect of a child and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years or to payment of a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
(b) (i) A parent, legal guardian or caretaker who endangers a child's person or health by knowingly causing or permitting the child to be present where any person is selling, manufacturing or possessing immediate precursors or chemical substances with intent to manufacture, sell or possess a controlled substance as prohibited under Section 41-29-139 or 41-29-313, is guilty of child endangerment and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years or to payment of a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
(ii) If the endangerment results in substantial harm to the child's physical, mental or emotional health, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than twenty (20) years or to payment of a fine of not more than Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00), or both.
(4) After consultation with the Department of Human Services, a regional mental health center or an appropriate professional person, a judge may suspend imposition or execution of a sentence provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section and in lieu thereof require treatment over a specified period of time at any approved public or private treatment facility. A person may be eligible for treatment in lieu of criminal penalties no more than one (1) time.
(5) In any proceeding resulting from a report made pursuant to Section 43-21-353 of the Youth Court Law, the testimony of the physician making the report regarding the child's injuries or condition or cause thereof shall not be excluded on the ground that the physician's testimony violates the physician-patient privilege or similar privilege or rule against disclosure. The physician's report shall not be considered as evidence unless introduced as an exhibit to his testimony.
Sources: Laws, 1979, ch. 506, § 75; Laws, 1980, ch. 550, § 28; Laws, 1986, ch. 383; Laws, 1989, ch. 566, § 3; Laws, 2005, ch. 467, § 3; Laws, 2005, ch. 491, § 3, eff from and after July 1, 2005.

References: § 97
 § 75
 § 28
 § 3
 § 3
 § 3