An Act to Amend the Laws Governing the Crime of Endangering the Welfare of a Child and to Create the Crime of Aggravated Endangering the Welfare of a Child
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0761
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: BALDACCI, BENNETT, LIBBY, ARATA, BAGSHAW, COSTAIN, FAULKINGHAM, POIRIER, THERIAULT
Amends: 17-A MRSA §554, 17-A MRSA §554-C

Legislative Document
No. 761
S.P. 319
In Senate, February 16, 2023
An Act to Amend the Laws Governing the Crime of Endangering 
the Welfare of a Child and to Create the Crime of Aggravated 
Endangering the Welfare of a Child
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator BALDACCI of Penobscot.
Cosponsored by Senators: BENNETT of Oxford, LIBBY of Cumberland, Representatives: 
ARATA of New Gloucester, BAGSHAW of Windham, COSTAIN of Plymouth, 
FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor, POIRIER of Skowhegan, THERIAULT of Fort Kent.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  17-A MRSA §554, sub-§1, ¶B-4, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 388, §2, is 
amended by amending the first blocked paragraph to read:
Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime; or
Sec. 2.  17-A MRSA §554, sub-§1, ¶C, as amended by PL 2015, c. 358, §3, is 
further amended to read:
C.  Otherwise recklessly endangers Endangers the health, safety or welfare of the child 
by recklessly violating a duty of care or protection.  Violation of this paragraph is a 
Class D crime.;
Sec. 3.  17-A MRSA §554, sub-§1, ¶D is enacted to read:
D.  Endangers the health, safety or welfare of a child by recklessly violating a duty of 
care or protection, resulting in serious bodily injury to the child.  Violation of this 
paragraph is a Class C crime; or
Sec. 4.  17-A MRSA §554, sub-§1, ¶E is enacted to read:
E.  Endangers the health, safety or welfare of a child by recklessly violating a duty of 
care or protection, resulting in death of the child.  Violation of this paragraph is a Class 
B crime.
Sec. 5.  17-A MRSA §554-C is enacted to read:
§554-C.  Aggravated endangering the welfare of a child
A person is guilty of aggravated endangering the welfare of a child if that person 
endangers the health, safety or welfare of a child by recklessly violating a duty of care or 
protection, resulting in bodily injury to the child that creates a substantial risk of death or 
extended convalescence necessary for the recovery of physical health.  Violation of this 
section is a Class B crime.
SUMMARY
The current Class D crime of endangering the welfare of a child under the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 17-A, section 554, subsection 1, paragraph C is established when a 
person violates a duty of care or protection to a child and thereby recklessly endangers the 
child.  This bill amends the provision to more accurately describe the crime by attaching 
the culpable mental state element of recklessness, which is a conscious disregard of a risk 
that involves a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable and prudent 
person would observe, to the violation of the duty.  The bill amends the laws governing the 
crime by enacting more serious penalty provisions if the person’s reckless violation of the 
duty of care or protection results in death of or serious bodily injury to the child.  If the 
child suffers serious bodily injury as a result, the crime is a Class C crime; if the child dies, 
the crime is a Class B crime.  The bill makes all 3 provisions parallel in their description 
of the prohibited conduct.
The bill establishes the Class B crime of aggravated endangering the welfare of a child.  
A person is guilty of aggravated endangering the welfare of a child if that person endangers 
the health, safety or welfare of a child by recklessly violating a duty of care or protection, 
resulting in bodily injury to the child that creates a substantial risk of death or extended 
convalescence necessary for the recovery of physical health.