Child Abuse Lawyer in Los Angeles, CA
Defense for Parents Under Investigation
- Defense against child abuse and endangerment charges
- Criminal defense and family law in one firm
- Attorneys reachable nights and weekends
- Phone and in-person consultations
Why Accused Parents Call Law House
Defending Your Present & Future
A child abuse conviction can result in fines and jail time and harm your reputation, job prospects, access to your children, and housing opportunities in the future. We want to hear your side of the story and question child abuse reports to defend your rights, future, and relationship with your children.
Handling Both Sides of the Case
A single child abuse report can open a criminal case and a separate child welfare case. Our full-service international law firm can defend the criminal charge and address related family law issues under one roof.
Working Around the Clock
With us, an investigation can start before anyone weighs the evidence against you. Law House PC attorneys are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so you can contact us anytime and we can get to work on your defense.
How a Child Abuse Case Can Start
Accusations
An ex-partner (or their friend or family member) may be trying to leverage child abuse accusations against you to gain the upper hand in a divorce or child custody proceedings. These accusations can trigger protective custody orders, criminal charges, and removal from your home.
If this is your situation, cease direct communication with your ex, preserve records to prove your whereabouts and interactions with your children and ex, comply with any protection orders, and call our attorneys.
Under California Family Code Section 3027.1, a family court can punish anyone who makes a false claim about child abuse or neglect to gain a custody advantage. The punishment can involve heavy financial sanctions, attorney's fees, and modifying custody against the accuser.
Mandated Reporter
Under Penal Code 11166, a mandated reporter in California must report when it is objectively reasonable to suspect child abuse or neglect. Certainty is not required.
The initial telephone report is due immediately or as soon as is practicably possible, and a written report must follow within 36 hours. Because the bar is suspicion rather than proof, an accidental injury, a bruise noticed at school, or a report made in bad faith can start the whole process.
A report does not decide how an injury happened or whether the facts add up to a crime. Talking to a child abuse lawyer in Los Angeles, CA, early gives you someone reading the file while it is still being built.
Two Cases From One Report
One accusation can produce two proceedings that run at the same time in different courtrooms, using different rules and procedures. Statements, records, and findings from one case can be used in the other. The two proceedings include:
Criminal Case
The criminal case comes from the district attorney under Penal Code 273a or 273d. The case decides guilt and punishment.
Child Welfare Case
The child welfare case involves a county agency asking a juvenile court to take jurisdiction under Welfare and Institutions Code 300, which lets that court declare a child a dependent of the court and gives Child Protective Services the power to intervene.
Our full-service international law firm handles criminal defense and family law. A parent facing a charge and a family law fallout does not have to hire two separate offices to handle them.
Building a Child Abuse Defense
A defense often starts with causation, because an injury has to be connected to a specific person and a specific act.
Medical evidence is often where these cases are built. The timing of an injury, the explanation given for it, and whether an underlying condition accounts for it are all open questions. So is the account itself: what a mandated reporter actually observed, what was assumed, and whether the story has changed.
Our attorneys review how the investigation was conducted and where the prosecution's version does not hold together.
FAQ for Our Child Abuse Lawyers in Los Angeles
Does a mandated report mean I will be charged?
No. Penal Code 11166 requires a mandated reporter to report a reasonable suspicion, and certainty is not required. The report simply triggers an investigation. It does not decide what happened, and it is a long way from the proof a prosecutor needs to convict.
What if the injury was an accident?
That is a defense question worth raising early. Penal Code 273a and 273d both require a willful act. An accident, a medical condition, or an injury someone else caused does not meet that standard. The evidence has to be examined carefully, and your Los Angeles child abuse attorney can review your case.
