Military Child Endangerment Cases (UCMJ Article 119b) – Military Defense Lawyer

Civilian court-martial defense attorney Richard V. Stevens has extensive experience representing military members charged with child assault, child safety and child welfare offenses over several decades of legal practice. This includes representing military members specifically accused of child endangerment. Attorney Richard V. Stevens is a civilian court-martial defense lawyer and military defense lawyer. He began handling military cases in 1995 and he has been handling military cases for over 30 years. As a former active duty JAG, he is a child endangerment defense lawyer who thoroughly knows military law, including the constant updates and changes to the military justice system, and he aggressively represents military members in military court and other military hearings and adverse actions. These cases can be extremely serious. If you are a military member facing these allegations, you need a strong military defense lawyer as your advocate. Attorney Richard Stevens, and the military defense law firm he founded, are here to provide you with the zealous defense you are seeking to protect you from the potential devestating consequences of these military misconduct claims.

MILITARY CHILD ENDANGERMENT ALLEGATIONS (UCMJ Article 119b)

Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) Article 119b addresses alleged Child Endangerment in the military justice system. These offenses are a special category of child welfare allegation in the military justice system, which cover the following:

A military member who has a duty for the care of a child under the age of 16 years and who, through design or culpable negligence, endangers the child’s mental or physical health, safety, or welfare. These cases can include allegations not just of harm, but of grievous bodily harm. Therefore, they can be very serious cases. The degree of alleged fault includes culpable negligence, which means “a degree of carelessness greater than simple negligence. It is a negligent act or omission accompanied by a culpable disregard for the foreseeable consequences to others of that act or omission. In the context of this alleged offense, culpable negligence may include acts that, when viewed in the light of human experience, might foreseeably result in harm to a child. The age and maturity of the child, the conditions surrounding the neglectful conduct, the proximity of assistance available, the nature of the environment in which the child may have been left, the provisions made for care of the child, and the location of the parent or adult responsible for the child relative to the location of the child, among others, may be considered in determining whether the conduct constituted culpable negligence.”

Furthermore, actual physical or mental harm to the child is not required for this offense. The offense requires that the accused military member’s actions reasonably could have caused physical or mental harm or suffering – even if it did not. However, if the accused military member’s conduct does cause actual physical or mental harm, the potential maximum punishment increases. The age of the named victim is also a factor in these cases. While this offense may be committed against any child under 16, the age of the victim is a factor in the culpable negligence determination. Leaving a teenager alone for an evening may not be culpable (or even simple) negligence; leaving an infant or toddler for the same period might constitute culpable negligence. On the other hand, leaving a teenager without supervision for an extended period while the accused was on temporary duty outside commuting distance might constitute culpable negligence. The details are very important in these cases.

Handling these cases requires the expertise of a skilled military defense lawyer. The accused military member in these cases could face significant jeopardy – a military disciplinary action that damages their career progression, a possible involuntary administrative discharge, or a possible court-martial trial. In the event of a military court-martial trial, the accused military member faces a possible federal conviction, potentially very lengthy prison sentence, bad conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge or dismissal (depending on rank), reduction in rank, forfeitures of pay and allowances, and a variety of other legal, professional, personal, and family consequences.

Attorney Richard V. Stevens is a civilian criminal defense attorney and former active duty military JAG lawyer who exclusively practices military law and defends military members stationed around the world who are facing military trials, discipline and investigations. If you’re facing these very serious military allegations regarding claims of Child Endangerment, don’t hesitate to seek the legal help you’re going to need. For a free initial case consultation, please contact us.

No attorney can guarantee the outcome you seek in your military case. What we can promise is that we will apply our decades of experience to the defense of your military case. This includes our extensive experience in military law, military regulations, military investigations, military disciplinary actions, military adverse actions, and/or military court-martial trials and cases.

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