There may be nothing as troubling as being accused of any type of abuse toward a child. This is certainly true of child neglect cases in California. No matter what the truth of the situation is, one thing is true: You deserve an aggressive defense from an experienced criminal defense attorney. Keep reading to find out more about what these cases actually mean and what your potential defense options are. Then contact Law Office of Michael L. Fell at (949) 585-9055 for a free legal consultation.

What exactly is child neglect?

In the state of California, parents are required by law to provide food, shelter, clothing, and medical care for their children. Even if you do not have custodial rights to your child and even if you are not in contact with your child, this is still true. The bottom line is that if you know that you have the child and you know that child is in need, and you are able to help them but choose not to, then you could be charged with child neglect.

How to defend yourself against charges of child neglect

You may be surprised by how common false charges of child neglect are. In some cases, it is the result of a parent who does not have a good relationship with the other paren. The good news is that there are ways to fight back. When you contact Law Office of Michael L. Fell for help with your case, we will look at all possible def defense options, including:

• Proving that you are not the parent of the child. If paternity has not been proven and you have reason to believe the child is not yours then a paternity test could be all that is needed to clear your name of child neglect charges.
• Showing that the neglect was not deliberate. If you have little or no contact with your child then you may not have known they were in need, which means that you did not willfully neglect them. If you tried to offer what they needed, including clothing, food, cash, and / or other assistance and the child’s other parent rejected you, then you could also be off the hook.
• You had a reasonable excuse. The reality is that not all parents are able to cover 100% of their child’s needs. If your child was hungry or otherwise “neglected” but you did not have the funds to do anything about it then we can show this to the judge or jury. Note that this does not work if you were able to work and just chose not to, or if you did have money but spent it on yourself instead of the child.

No matter which of these apply to you, you deserve a vigorous defense. Do not plead guilty before talking to an attorney. You can reach out to Law Office of Michael L. Fell at (949) 585-9055 for a free legal consultation right now.