You have been arrested, or you are being investigated, and the words being used are “child abuse,” but what does that mean? The paperwork says something more specific: a California Penal Code number you have never heard of, 273a, or 273d, or 270, and you need to know what it actually means, what it carries, and how serious your situation really is. Or CPS has come and gone, the police have called, and you are trying to understand what charge could even come out of what happened. See also our article on what to do if you are investigated by CPS.
“Child abuse” is not one crime in California. It is a large category of crimes which includes endangerment, corporal injury, neglect, abandonment, sexual offenses, and most seriously, homicide. Each offense has its own elements and classification. This article addresses the whole field of child abuse charges, what each requires the prosecution to prove, how they are classified and punished, and the potential collateral consequences of these charges.
Child Abuse Charges: The Short Answer
The two most common charges are Penal Code section 273a, child endangerment, which punishes willfully causing or permitting a child to suffer, be injured, or be placed in danger, no touching required, and section 273d, corporal injury on a child, which punishes willful infliction of cruel or inhuman physical punishment or injury resulting in a traumatic condition. Around them sit the neglect offenses, failure to provide under section 270 and abandonment under section 271; the more serious category including assault on a young child causing death under section 273ab, and murder and manslaughter in abuse and neglect deaths; the sexual offense category including section 288 and related charges; and adjacent charges, from DUI with a child passenger to criminal firearm storage to parental child abduction.
Classification of the charges ranges across the spectrum. Several core charges are wobblers, chargeable as misdemeanors or felonies, while others are straight misdemeanors or straight felonies up to life terms. Most child abuse charges involve potential collateral consequences including CPS involvement, potential CACI listing, custody consequences, and, for non-citizens, potential immigration consequences.
Child Abuse Charges Table
| Charge | Statute | Core Conduct | Classification | General Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child Endangerment (Risk Of Great Harm) | PC 273a(a) | Willfully causing/permitting a child to suffer unjustifiable pain, injury, or endangerment under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death | Wobbler | Felony up to 6 years |
| Child Endangerment (Other Circumstances) | PC 273a(b) | Same conduct without likelihood of great bodily harm | Misdemeanor | Six months |
| Corporal Injury On A Child | PC 273d | Willful infliction of cruel or inhuman corporal punishment or injury resulting in a traumatic condition | Wobbler | Felony up to 6 years, plus enhancements |
| Failure To Provide (Child Neglect) | PC 270 | Parent willfully failing without lawful excuse to furnish necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical care | Misdemeanor (limited felony posture) | Up to 1 year |
| Abandonment / Desertion | PC 271, 271a | Deserting or abandoning a child under 14 with intent to abandon | Wobbler | Felony exposure |
| Assault On Child Under 8 Causing Death | PC 273ab | Assault by force likely to produce great bodily injury on a young child, resulting in death (or coma/paralysis) | Straight felony | 25 years to life (death); life (coma/paralysis) |
| Murder / Manslaughter In Abuse Deaths | PC 187, 192 | Homicide liability in fatal abuse or neglect, including implied-malice murder | Straight felony | Up to life |
| Torture | PC 206 | Infliction of great bodily injury with intent to cause cruel or extreme pain | Straight felony | Life |
| Lewd Act On A Child | PC 288 | Sexual conduct family: lewd acts, continuous abuse (288.5), related offenses | Felony (variants) | Substantial terms; sex offender registration |
| Possession Of Child Pornography | PC 311.11 | Possession of prohibited material | Wobbler | Registration consequences |
| Annoying Or Molesting A Child | PC 647.6 | Conduct directed at a child motivated by abnormal sexual interest | Misdemeanor/wobbler postures | Registration consequences |
| DUI With Child Passenger | VC 23572 / PC 273a | DUI with a minor under 14 in the vehicle, charged as an enhancement or as endangerment itself | Enhancement | Added custody time or full 273a exposure |
| Criminal Storage Of A Firearm | PC 25100 et seq. | Keeping a firearm accessible to a child, with harm-based tiers | Misdemeanor to wobbler tiers | Varies by harm |
| Child Abduction / Custody Deprivation | PC 278, 278.5 | Taking or withholding a child from a lawful custodian | Wobbler | Felony exposure |
The Main Child Abuse Charges In California: 273a & 273d
Most California child abuse prosecutions involve two statutes which are discussed below.
Section 273a, child endangerment. This California penal code punishes not only inflicting unjustifiable pain or suffering on a child but causing or permitting a child to suffer, or to be placed in a situation where the child’s person or health is endangered, which means no touching, no injury, and no intent to harm is required.
273a(a) is a wobbler and applies where the circumstances were likely to produce great bodily harm or death. 273a(b) is a misdemeanor. In practice, 273a is the charge of situations: the child present during a domestic violence incident, which is why DV arrests so often arrive with an endangerment count attached and why the domestic violence and child abuse defenses intertwine; the DUI with a child in the back seat, which prosecutors can charge as endangerment itself rather than a mere enhancement; the hazardous home, the accessible drugs, the moment of dangerous inattention.
Section 273d, corporal injury on a child. This statute is closest to what people mean by “child abuse.” It requires willful infliction of cruel or inhuman corporal punishment or an injury resulting in a traumatic condition, any wound or bodily injury, and it is a wobbler carrying up to six years as a felony, with enhancements for prior convictions and great bodily injury.
California law recognizes a parent’s right to impose reasonable discipline, and a spanking that leaves no injury and stays within reasonableness is not a crime, while punishment that is cruel, inhuman, or injurious is. Where that line is, legally and factually, is often the question at the center of these prosecutions.
Child Neglect Charges: P.C. 270 & P.C. 271
Child abuse covers a failure to act or omissions as well as actual actions. Section 270 makes it a misdemeanor for a parent willfully to fail, without lawful excuse, to provide necessary clothing, food, shelter, or medical attendance for a child. Classic neglect includes a defense that you were genuinely unable to provide certain things because the statute targets willful failure, not poverty.
Sections 271 and 271a involve abandonment and desertion of young children. These charges appear both on their own but also often involve a CPS case with neglect findings. See our article on what to do if you are investigated by CPS.
The Most Serious Child Abuse Charges: P.C. 273ab, Homicide, And Torture
The most serious child abuse charges occur when a child dies or is devastatingly injured and these are discussed below.
Section 273ab punishes assault on a child under eight, by a person with care or custody, by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, resulting in death. This comes with an exposure of twenty-five years to life. Fatal abuse and neglect can also be charged as murder, including second-degree murder on an implied-malice theory, or as involuntary manslaughter.
These are the cases where the medical evidence, causation, mechanism, timing, and the genuine scientific disputes that attend infant injury become the entire case as they often proceed to trial. See our article on how child abuse cases are won at trial.
Child Sexual Abuse Charges
A distinct branch of child abuse charges, governed by its own statutes and its own consequences, includes sexual conduct involving minors: lewd acts on a child under section 288 and continuous sexual abuse under 288.5.
A couple of things distinguish this serious category of child abuse charges. The exposure includes not only substantial prison terms, many are strikes, and potential lifetime sex registration. These serious allegations sometimes arise, more often than the public suspects, inside custody disputes. See our article on false abuse allegations in custody cases.
The Collateral Consequences Of Child Abuse Charges
Beyond the direct criminal consequences of a child abuse charge – which include potential jail, fines classes, and probation – are the indirect or collateral consequences that these charges come with.
The arrest or report often triggers CPS cross-reporting and investigation. A substantiated finding threatens a CACI listing which can have serious job implications. See our article on defending against CACI listings. For non-citizens, federal law makes a “crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment” its own dedicated ground of deportability, separate from the moral-turpitude and aggravated-felony doors, an analysis with traps enough to require its own article in this hub. See our article on child abuse crimes and immigration consequences. The defense of any child abuse charge is therefore never only the defense of the charge: it is the coordinated management of multiple systems at once.
Frequently Asked Questions About Child Abuse Charges
What Is The Difference Between 273a And 273d?
Section 273a is endangerment: causing or permitting a child to suffer or be placed in danger, with no touching or injury required. Section 273d is corporal injury: willfully inflicting cruel punishment or an injury producing a traumatic condition. Endangerment punishes the dangerous situation; corporal injury punishes the harmful act.
Can I Be Charged With Child Abuse Without Ever Touching My Child?
Yes. Endangerment under 273a reaches causing or permitting danger, a child present during domestic violence, a DUI with a child passenger, a hazardous home, and neglect under 270 punishes failure to provide. A large share of the umbrella involves no physical contact at all.
Is Child Abuse A Felony Or A Misdemeanor?
It depends on the charge and circumstances. The core charges, 273a(a) and 273d, are wobblers, chargeable either way, while 273a(b) and 270 are misdemeanors and the catastrophic and sexual offenses are straight felonies, up to life terms. The classification decision is itself a battleground.
Is Spanking My Child Illegal In California?
Reasonable parental discipline is lawful; cruel, inhuman, or injurious punishment is not, and the line between them, which turns on the manner, degree, and result, is the central question in many 273d prosecutions. It is never a question to discuss with investigators without counsel.
What Happens Beyond The Criminal Case?
Every charge under the umbrella triggers the collateral machinery: a CPS investigation, potential CACI listing that survives even a criminal dismissal, immediate custody consequences, and, for non-citizens, a dedicated deportability ground for crimes of child abuse. The defense must run all tracks at once.
What Should I Do If I Am Accused?
Say nothing to police or CPS without counsel, retain a defense attorney immediately, ideally in the pre-filing window where charges can sometimes be prevented, and treat every parallel proceeding, dependency, CACI, custody, immigration, as part of one coordinated case, because that is what it is.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts and charges. If you are accused of any offense described here, consult a qualified criminal defense attorney immediately.