Virginia · Code of Virginia — Title 18.2, Crimes and Offenses
Va. Code (Crimes) § 18.2-371: Causing or encouraging acts rendering children delinquent, abused, etc.; penalty; abandoned infant
What this law says, in plain English
A person 18 or older who willfully contributes to, encourages, or causes a child to become delinquent, abused, neglected, or to join a criminal gang, or who engages in sexual contact with a child 15 or older (not their spouse or descendant) is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. A safe haven affirmative defense applies to parents who abandon infants at hospitals within 30 days.
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