Mom calls the local police and tells them she and her daughter, who is 17, got into an argument. Daughter gets picked up by a family in town and stays with them. Mom finds out that the family and her daughter are doing drugs and tells the police that she heard her daughter was branded. Police officer contacts the daughter and she tells the officer that she is fine. He doesn't check her for a brand at that time. A week later, the daughter leaves that family and goes to her brother's house. The brother sees the burn and takes her to the ER. Doctor says she has 2nd degree burns and possibly third degree in some areas.
The daughter told her mom that she does not want to press charges and will not give a statement. Can the mom press charges for her? If so, what charges should be filed?

Good ol' Freestone County.

The questions isn't, "can charges be brought," but, "can charges be proven". Anytime a child is hurt, we can bring charges if we can prove who committed the assault. As many prosecutors have done, I have done so (in limited cases) where NO ONE wants to go forward with charges but I can prove them anyway. The problem is....who are you going to charge?

Of course with the "brandee" being 17, you do not have an injury to a child case. If you were really burning to file a case you might try H&S 146.012 which prohibits tattooing a person younger than 18 without parental consent. The brand would fit the definition of a tattoo being "an indelible mark or figure on the human body by scarring . . ." But it would take a lot of needling to get me to file such a misdemeanor.

quote:

Originally posted by John Greenwood:

But it would take a lot of needling to get me to file such a misdemeanor.

I see what you did there.

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