Houston Criminal Lawyer Jim Sullivan represents adults throughout the state of Texas on serious felonies and misdemeanors, including Harboring a Runaway Child.
Suppose you let a 15 year old boy stay with you for two weeks without notifying his parents after the boy ran away from home because he got in serious trouble for leaving the gate open and all the cows wandered away. The circumstances may not seem serious, but the legal consequences can be. Attorney Jim Sullivan has represented adults who were arrested and charged for providing shelter to runaway teens without notifying their parents.
Jim Sullivan is also Board Certified in Juvenile Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Juvenile Law is different than criminal law.
If you need a Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer, Attorneys Jim Sullivan and Associates can fight for you and get the best possible result. You can call them at 281-546-6428.
TEXAS PENAL CODE
Sec. 25.06. HARBORING RUNAWAY CHILD. (a) A person commits an offense if he knowingly harbors a child and he is criminally negligent about whether the child:
(1) is younger than 18 years; and
(2) has escaped from the custody of a peace officer, a probation officer, the Texas Youth Council, or a detention facility for children, or is voluntarily absent from the child’s home without the consent of the child’s parent or guardian for a substantial length of time or without the intent to return.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the actor was related to the child within the second degree by consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter 573, Government Code.
(c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the actor notified:
(1) the person or agency from which the child escaped or a law enforcement agency of the presence of the child within 24 hours after discovering that the child had escaped from custody; or
(2) a law enforcement agency or a person at the child’s home of the presence of the child within 24 hours after discovering that the child was voluntarily absent from home without the consent of the child’s parent or guardian.
(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(e) On the receipt of a report from a peace officer, probation officer, the Texas Youth Council, a foster home, or a detention facility for children that a child has escaped its custody or upon receipt of a report from a parent, guardian, conservator, or legal custodian that a child is missing, a law enforcement agency shall immediately enter a record of the child into the National Crime Information Center.
