(1) A person is guilty of the crime of criminal mistreatment in the third degree if the person is the parent of a child, is a person entrusted with the physical custody of a child or other dependent person, is a person who has assumed the responsibility to provide to a dependent person the basic necessities of life, or is a person employed to provide to the child or dependent person the basic necessities of life and, with criminal negligence, creates an imminent and substantial risk of substantial bodily harm to a child or dependent person by withholding any of the basic necessities of life.

Attorney's Note

Under the Washington Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
gross misdemeanorup to 364 daysup to $5,000
For details, see Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.20.021

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Terms Used In Washington Code 9A.42.035

  • Basic necessities of life: means food, water, shelter, clothing, and medically necessary health care, including but not limited to health-related treatment or activities, hygiene, oxygen, and medication. See Washington Code 9A.42.010
  • Child: means a person under eighteen years of age. See Washington Code 9A.42.010
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Dependent person: means a person who, because of physical or mental disability, or because of extreme advanced age, is dependent upon another person to provide the basic necessities of life. See Washington Code 9A.42.010
  • Employed: means hired by a dependent person, another person acting on behalf of a dependent person, or by an organization or governmental entity, to provide to a dependent person any of the basic necessities of life. See Washington Code 9A.42.010
  • Good samaritan: means any individual or group of individuals who: (a) Is not related to the dependent person; (b) voluntarily provides assistance or services of any type to the dependent person; (c) is not paid, given gifts, or made a beneficiary of any assets valued at five hundred dollars or more, for any reason, by the dependent person, the dependent person's family, or the dependent person's estate; and (d) does not commit or attempt to commit any other crime against the dependent person or the dependent person's estate. See Washington Code 9A.42.010
  • person: may be construed to include the United States, this state, or any state or territory, or any public or private corporation or limited liability company, as well as an individual. See Washington Code 1.16.080
  • Substantial bodily harm: means bodily injury which involves a temporary but substantial disfigurement, or which causes a temporary but substantial loss or impairment of the function of any bodily part or organ, or which causes a fracture of any bodily part;
Washington Code 9A.42.010
(2) For purposes of this section, “a person who has assumed the responsibility to provide to a dependent person the basic necessities of life” means a person other than: (a) A government agency that regularly provides assistance or services to dependent persons, including but not limited to the department of social and health services; or (b) a good samaritan as defined in RCW 9A.42.010.
(3) Criminal mistreatment in the third degree is a gross misdemeanor.

NOTES:

FindingIntent2017 c 266: See note following RCW 9A.42.020.