                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CAUSING OR ENCOURAGING ACTS RENDERING CHILDREN DELINQUENT, ABUSED, ETC.;
PENALTY; ABANDONED INFANT (§ 18.2-371)

Any person 18 years of age or older, including the parent of any child, who (i)
willfully contributes to, encourages, or causes any act, omission, or condition
that renders a child delinquent, in need of services, in need of supervision, or
abused or neglected as defined in § 16.1-228 or (ii) engages in consensual
sexual intercourse or anal intercourse with or performs cunnilingus, fellatio,
or anilingus upon or by a child 15 or older not his spouse, child, or grandchild
is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. This section shall not be construed as
repealing, modifying, or in any way affecting §§ 18.2-18, 18.2-19, 18.2-61,
18.2-63, and 18.2-347.
		If the prosecution under this section is based solely on the accused parent
having left the child at a hospital or emergency medical services agency, it
shall be an affirmative defense to prosecution of a parent under this section
that such parent safely delivered the child within the first 30 days of the
child&#8217;s life to (a) a hospital that provides 24-hour emergency services,
(b) an attended emergency medical services agency that employs emergency medical
services personnel, or (c) a newborn safety device located at and operated by
such hospital or emergency medical services agency. In order for the affirmative
defense to apply, the child shall be delivered in a manner reasonably calculated
to ensure the child&#8217;s safety.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 18.1-14; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1981, cc. 397,
568; 1990, c. 797; 1991, c. 295; 1993, c. 411; 2003, cc. 816, 822; 2006, c. 935;
2008, cc. 174, 206; 2014, c. 794; 2015, cc. 502, 503; 2022, cc. 80, 81.