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County prosecutors and law enforcement back HB 257 to criminalize severe child neglect
Summary
Prosecutors, police and family members urged the committee to create a criminal offense for serious child neglect (HB 257, "Charlotte's Law"), citing cases where current statutes left gaps for chronic neglect, medical neglect, and failure to protect children from sexual abuse.
Sullivan and Strafford County attorneys, New Hampshire prosecutors and police officers testified in favor of HB 257 to establish a standalone crime of criminal neglect of a child. The bill, called “Charlotte’s Law” by witnesses, is intended to fill gaps prosecutors say exist in New Hampshire statutes for harms caused by neglect — including medical neglect, failure to protect children from sexual abuse and cases that do not fit neatly into negligent homicide or assault statutes.
Emily…
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