ABUSE/CRUELTY TO CHILD
(NON-PARENT/GUARDIAN/PERSON HAVING CONTROL)
(N.J.S.A.
9:6-1; N.J.S.A. 9:6-3) model jury charge
Count ________ of the indictment charges
defendant with [abusing] [acting cruelly toward] a child.
The statute upon which this count of the
indictment is based states in pertinent part
Any
person who [abuses][acts cruelly toward] a child . . . is guilty of a crime.
In order to find defendant guilty of this
crime, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt
1. That the victim was a child.
2. That the defendant knowingly[1]
[abused] [acted cruelly toward] the victim.
The first element that the State must
prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that (name of child) is a child. A “child” means any person under the age of
eighteen (18) years at the time of the offense.
The second element that the State must
prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that defendant knowingly abused (name of
child) by (choose appropriate[2])
(b) employing or permitting (him/her) to be
employed in any vocation or employment injurious to (his/her) health or
dangerous to (his/her) life or limb, or contrary to the laws of New Jersey.
(c) employing or permitting (him/her) to be
employed in any occupation, employment or vocation dangerous to the morals of
the child.
(d) habitually using, in the hearing of (name
of child) profane, indecent or obscene language.
(e) performing any indecent, immoral or
unlawful act or deed in the presence of (name of child) that may tend to
debauch or endanger or degrade the morals of (name of child).
(f) permitting or allowing any other person
to perform any indecent, immoral or unlawful act or deed in the presence of
(name of child) that may tend to debauch or endanger or degrade the morals of
(name of child).
(g) using excessive physical restraint on
(name of child) under circumstances which did not indicate that (name of
child)’s behavior was harmful to (himself/herself), others or property.
(h) in an institution, isolating (name of
child) from ordinary social contact under circumstances which indicate
emotional or social deprivation.
OR
The second element that the State must
prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that defendant knowingly acted cruelly
toward (name of child) by (choose appropriate[3])
(a) inflicting on (him/her) unnecessarily
severe corporal punishment.
(b) inflicting on (him/her) unnecessary
suffering or pain, either mental or physical.
(c) habitually tormenting, vexing, or
afflicting (him/her).
(d) committing any act of omission or
commission whereby unnecessary pain and suffering, whether mental or physical,
was caused or permitted to be inflicted on (him/her).
(e) exposing (him/her) to unnecessary
hardship, fatigue or mental or physical strains that might tend to injure (his/her)
health or physical or moral well being.
A person acts knowingly with respect to
the nature of his/her conduct or the attendant circumstances if he/she is aware that the conduct is of that nature or that such
circumstances exist or the person is aware of a high probability of their
existence. A person acts knowingly with
respect to a result of the conduct if he/she
is aware that it is practically certain that the conduct will cause such a
result. “Knowing,” “with knowledge,” or equivalent terms have the same meaning.
Knowledge is a condition of the mind. It
cannot be seen. It can only be determined by inferences from defendant’s
conduct, words or acts. A state of mind
is rarely susceptible of direct proof but must ordinarily be inferred from the
facts. Therefore, it is not necessary
that the State produce witnesses to testify that an accused said that he/she
had a certain state of mind when he/she
did a particular thing.
It is within your power to find that such
proof has been furnished beyond a reasonable doubt by inferences which may
arise from the nature of his/her acts and conduct and from all he/she
said and did at the particular time and place and from all surrounding
circumstances established by the evidence.
If you find that the State has proven
every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must find
defendant guilty. If you find that the
State has failed to prove any element beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must
find defendant not guilty.
