§ 272 PC – Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor

Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is causing or enabling a minor (a person under the age of 18) to:

• engage in illegal or delinquent behavior,
• become a habitual truant, or
• become a dependent of the juvenile court system.

California Penal Code 272 PC makes contributing to the delinquency of a minor a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and fines of up to $2,500.

The language of PC 272 states that

Every person who commits any act or omits the performance of any duty, which act or omission causes or tends to cause or encourage any person under the age of 18 years to [become a]…ward or dependent child of the juvenile court… is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Examples 

• letting a 13-year-old niece use a spare bedroom to have sex with her 19-year-old boyfriend.
• giving cigarettes and alcoholic beverages to a 16-year-old son and his friends.
• encouraging a minor to skip school.

Below our California criminal defense attorneys address the following topics re. contributing to the delinquency of a minor:

• 1. Elements
• 2. Defenses
• 3. Penalties
• 4. Expungements
• 5. Related Offenses

PC 272 makes it a misdemeanor to cause an underage person to become a juvenile delinquent.

1. Elements

California Criminal Jury Instruction “CALCRIM” 2980 spells out the element of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. For you to be convicted of violating PC 272, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following two elements:

1. you committed an act or failed to perform a duty, and
2. in doing so, you caused or contributed to causing a minor to become a delinquent, a habitual truant, or a dependent child of the juvenile court.¹

We discuss these elements below.

“Failed to Perform a Duty”

California law requires parents and legal guardians to exercise

• reasonable care,
• supervision,
• protection, and
• control

over the minor.² In order to violate PC 272, you must act with either:

• general criminal intent, where you act deliberately; or
• criminal negligence, where you act in a reckless way that creates a high risk of death or great bodily injury, and a reasonable person would have known the risks of your behavior.³

“Delinquent, Truant, and Dependent Children”

To commit PC 272, you must contribute to causing a minor to become a:

• delinquent,
• habitual truant, or
• dependent child of the juvenile court.

A “delinquent child” is a minor who has been found by a court to have committed a crime.⁶

A “habitual truant” means that such child:

• has violated an age-based curfew,
• habitually and persistently refused to obey the reasonable orders of their parent or guardian, and/or
• has four or more unexcused absences from school in a school year.⁷

Finally, minors become dependents of California’s juvenile court system for any of the following reasons:

• they are a victim of child abuse, child neglect, and/or sexual abuse,
• they suffer severe emotional damage as a result of mistreatment or neglect by a parent or guardian,
• they are left without a means of support,
• their sibling is the victim of abuse or neglect, and/or
• they are subjected to an act of cruelty by a member of their household.⁸

2. Defenses

Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with crimes involving minors, including PC 272. In our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors and judges at getting these charges reduced or dismissed.

You Did Not Know the Person Was Under 18

If you genuinely did not know the person was a minor, you cannot be convicted of contributing to their delinquency. We find this defense helpful in cases where the minor in question:

• appeared older than their age and/or
• lied about being an adult.

Since the D.A. cannot get inside of your head, they may have trouble proving beyond a reasonable doubt that you knew the alleged victim was under 18.

You Could Not Reasonably Control the Child

Every parent knows that despite their best efforts, some children still get into trouble. Prosecutors – who are often parents themselves – understand this and are often willing to reduce or dismiss these charges once we explain you did everything within your lawful power to keep your child under control.

You Were Falsely Accused

We see this scenario a lot. Sometimes an angry child or vengeful ex-spouse will falsely accuse the other parent of violating PC 272 just to get them into trouble.

Fortunately, we can usually find their motivation to lie by reviewing their text messages and speaking to eyewitnesses. Once prosecutors see that the accusers lack credibility, your case may be dropped.

California penalties for contributing to the delinquency of a child include possible jail.

3. Penalties

A violation of PC 272 is a misdemeanor offense.⁹ It is punishable by:

• custody in county jail (as opposed to state prison) for up to one year, and/or
• a maximum fine of $2,500.¹⁰

A judge has the discretion to place you on misdemeanor probation instead of a jail term.

4. Expungements

If you are convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in California, you can get the conviction expunged once you successfully complete:

• your jail time, or
• probation (whichever was imposed).

The expungement process releases you from virtually “all penalties and disabilities” of the conviction.

5. Related Offenses

Furnishing Marijuana to a Minor – HS 11361

Health and Safety Code 11361 HS makes it a crime to:

• sell, give, or offer marijuana to a minor,
• induce a minor to use marijuana, or
• employ or use a minor to transport, sell or give away marijuana.

Depending on the facts of the case, you can be charged under both:

• PC 272, and
• HS 11361.

Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor – BPC 25658

Business and Professions Code 25658 makes it a misdemeanor to sell or furnish alcohol to a minor (someone under the state legal drinking age of 21).

Sending Harmful Material to a Minor – PC 288.2

Penal Code 288.2 PC makes it a felony to send, distribute or exhibit harmful, lewd, lascivious, or obscene material to a minor under the age of 18.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to the following scholarly articles:

• Truancy: It’s Not About Skipping School – Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal.
• Truants’ Perceptions of Family Factors as Causes of School Truancy and Non-attendance – Journal of Psychology.
• Contributing to Delinquency: An Exercise in Judicial Speculation – Akron Law Review.
• Factors Contributing to Juvenile Delinquency – American Institute of Criminal Law & Criminology.
• Contributing to Delinquency – St. Louis University Law Journal.

Legal References: