Child Abuse

Compassionately Guiding Clients Through Family Law Issues

With 45 years of experience assisting Florida residents with a wide range of family law matters, Attorney Alan Jay Braverman has seen how challenging a conflict involving a child can be for the parties involved. Although any legal proceeding is stressful for a parent, issues involving child abuse are especially emotional and may not only drastically affect a child custody arrangement, but also result in a criminal record. Our team of legal professionals is ready to provide you with the responsive legal guidance and vigorous advocacy that you require. Regardless of the nature of your involvement in the situation, we can fight to defend your rights and ensure that you are treated fairly.

Understand Your Rights After Being Accused of Child Abuse

There are few things more devastating than being accused of or charged with mistreating your child. Although there are many instances in which child abuse reports are valid, there are also plenty of occasions on which someone makes a false report of child abuse, either as a way to intentionally harass the person named or based on false information. Even a charge or allegation can be damaging for a parent’s reputation and can create serious issues for them, especially when it comes to their ability to continue seeing and interacting with their child. The criminal penalties for child abuse are also serious and should be fought whenever possible, especially if the allegations against you are meritless.

The laws that relate to child abuse are meant to protect children while also balancing society’s concern for their wellbeing with a parent’s right to raise their children and engage in discipline as they see fit. An allegation of child abuse will not automatically result in penalties against the defendant. Instead, you will have a chance to present your side of the case and to contradict false information or inaccurate reports. However, you should consult a knowledgeable attorney in the process so they can craft a comprehensive strategy on your behalf. With so much at stake, you should not just assume that the truth will come out on its own.

In determining whether child abuse has occurred, knowing whether the alleged conduct actually constituted child abuse is critical. Florida law defines child abuse as a willful or threatened act that results in a physical, mental, or sexual injury, or something that causes or is likely to cause a physical, mental, or emotional impairment for the victim. There are three different levels of child abuse: Aggravated child abuse, simple child abuse, and child abuse through neglect, in descending order of severity. Aggravated child abuse occurs when the conduct was willful or knowing, such as when a parent cages a child or other egregious situations. Simple child abuse involves situations in which a parent intentionally inflicts a mental and physical injury that would reasonably be expected to result in harm. Finally, neglect of a child happens in situations in which a caregiver’s failure to provide supervision, care, or services for a child results in harm to the child’s physical wellbeing or mental health. A common example would be failing to provide food and nutrition or adequate clothing.