Delaware News

Attorney General’s office applauds strengthened protections for Delaware’s children

Criminal Division | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Friday, May 22, 2009



The Delaware Attorney General’s office announced that children who witness domestic
violence or are abandoned by their parents will now receive greater protections under state law.
Legislation that enacted these enhanced statutes was signed into law by Governor Markell today during
an afternoon ceremony in Dover.

Patricia Dailey Lewis, Director of the Attorney General’s Family Division, applauded
Governor Markell for signing Senate Bill 33 and Senate Bill 32 into law, as well as members of the
General Assembly for their overwhelming support of the legislation. “These laws protect children who
cannot otherwise protect themselves. The new broader definition of a domestic violence witness
recognizes that children are victims, whether they see domestic violence or hear it while hiding under
the bed or crouching in the closet. Delaware’s stronger child abandonment law now holds parents who
abandon their children criminally responsible.”

Senate Bill 33 expands the definition of a domestic violence witness to include the phrase “by
sight or sound” when determining whether a child was a witness to an act of domestic violence. Under
this new law, a child that hears but not necessarily sees an act of domestic violence is a legal witness to
that act.

Under previous state law, abandoning a child under 16 years of age was a misdemeanor offense
and abandoning a child 16 years of age and older was not a criminal offense. Senate Bill 32
strengthens this law by making abandonment of a child 14 years of age and younger a class E felony
and abandonment of a child older than 14 years of age a class F felony. Moreover, because child
abandonment is now a felony-level offense, a conviction on this charge is now grounds for the
termination of parental rights.

Senate Bill 33 and Senate Bill 32 unanimously passed both houses of the General Assembly
earlier this year. The Attorney General’s office recognized State Senator Patricia Blevins and
Representative Melanie George Marshall for their leadership in sponsoring this legislation.
# # #

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Attorney General’s office applauds strengthened protections for Delaware’s children

Criminal Division | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Friday, May 22, 2009



The Delaware Attorney General’s office announced that children who witness domestic
violence or are abandoned by their parents will now receive greater protections under state law.
Legislation that enacted these enhanced statutes was signed into law by Governor Markell today during
an afternoon ceremony in Dover.

Patricia Dailey Lewis, Director of the Attorney General’s Family Division, applauded
Governor Markell for signing Senate Bill 33 and Senate Bill 32 into law, as well as members of the
General Assembly for their overwhelming support of the legislation. “These laws protect children who
cannot otherwise protect themselves. The new broader definition of a domestic violence witness
recognizes that children are victims, whether they see domestic violence or hear it while hiding under
the bed or crouching in the closet. Delaware’s stronger child abandonment law now holds parents who
abandon their children criminally responsible.”

Senate Bill 33 expands the definition of a domestic violence witness to include the phrase “by
sight or sound” when determining whether a child was a witness to an act of domestic violence. Under
this new law, a child that hears but not necessarily sees an act of domestic violence is a legal witness to
that act.

Under previous state law, abandoning a child under 16 years of age was a misdemeanor offense
and abandoning a child 16 years of age and older was not a criminal offense. Senate Bill 32
strengthens this law by making abandonment of a child 14 years of age and younger a class E felony
and abandonment of a child older than 14 years of age a class F felony. Moreover, because child
abandonment is now a felony-level offense, a conviction on this charge is now grounds for the
termination of parental rights.

Senate Bill 33 and Senate Bill 32 unanimously passed both houses of the General Assembly
earlier this year. The Attorney General’s office recognized State Senator Patricia Blevins and
Representative Melanie George Marshall for their leadership in sponsoring this legislation.
# # #

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.