Court Opinion

ID: 9580717
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:07:55.50286+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:36:28.047183
License: Public Domain

BEALES, J.,
concurring, in part, and dissenting, in part.
I respectfully dissent from the portion of the majority opinion that reverses appellant’s conviction for felony child neglect of A.C. I concur with the analysis and holding of the remainder of the majority opinion.
I would hold that the evidence, taken in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, which we must do on appeal, given that the Commonwealth prevailed in the trial court on this charge, demonstrates that appellant placed A.C. in virtually the same perilous situation as his brother and sister and forced him to face essentially the same dangers as his siblings. Appellant removed all three children from their beds in the middle of the night, took them to the studio around 2:00 in the morning, ordered A.C. to remain outside on a cold December night with his brother and sister (although he allowed A.C. to come inside “any time [A.C.] wanted to”), and left A.C. in charge of the two younger children with instructions to guard the parking lot against vandals. Furthermore and perhaps even more importantly, A.C., who, by 5:30 a.m., was almost desperate to help his brother and sister escape this situation, was effectively forced to lead his siblings on a thirty-minute walk down a highway on an early December morning to meet their aunt, whom A.C. had called to rescue them from their plight. They marched down this highway for a significant distance while it was still presumably dark, before being spotted and picked up by their aunt.
By leaving A.C. in charge of his two younger siblings in a parking lot in the middle of a cold December night while appellant slept inside the studio, appellant placed A.C. in virtually as much danger, especially given A.C.’s supervisory role, as he placed A.C.’s brother and sister. As appellant’s *367admitted purpose in placing A.C. in charge of his siblings outside in the parking lot that night was to have them stand guard against vandals, appellant either knew or certainly should have known that his actions might well expose all three of the children to criminal activity and result in injury to all of the children while appellant slept comfortably in the warm studio.
The majority opinion emphasizes that A.C. was almost 18 years old. Nevertheless, subsection B of the felony child neglect statute reads, “Any parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 whose willful act or omission in the care of such child was so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.” Code § 18.2-371.1(B)(1). The statute refers to neglect of a child under 18 years of age. A.C. was 17 years old, so he was still “under the age of 18.” Being almost 18 did not protect A.C. from the situation in which appellant placed him and his siblings. A.C. was a minor, and appellant was responsible for his well-being—a responsibility that appellant callously ignored.
For all of these reasons, I would not substantially differentiate between appellant’s actions or omissions toward A.C. and his actions or omissions toward the other siblings.
Since I believe there is sufficient evidence to allow a trier of fact to conclude that appellant showed reckless disregard for all of the children’s health and safety, (see Kelly v. Commonwealth, 42 Va.App. 347, 356, 592 S.E.2d 353, 357 (2004)), I would not only affirm appellant’s conviction for felony child neglect of “brother” and “sister” but would also affirm appellant’s conviction for felony child neglect of A.C.