In Louisiana, contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile is a crime under Revised Statute 14:92, and the penalties come in three tiers: up to a $500 fine and six months in jail for the baseline offense, up to a $1,000 fine and two years for pulling a child into a non-violent felony, and two to ten years at hard labor when the underlying conduct is a violent felony or a felony drug offense.1Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:92 – Contributing to the Delinquency of Juveniles The tier that applies depends entirely on what the adult encouraged the child to do.
What the Law Covers
RS 14:92 reaches any person over 17 who intentionally entices, aids, or permits a child under 17 to engage in prohibited conduct. The statute lists specific situations rather than relying on a general concept of delinquency. Covered acts include encouraging or allowing a child to visit establishments where alcohol is the main product sold, run away from home without parental permission, violate any state law or local ordinance, or participate in a felony.1Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:92 – Contributing to the Delinquency of Juveniles
Emancipation of the child does not take the conduct outside the statute. A minor who has been emancipated by marriage or by court order still counts as a protected child, so an adult cannot defeat the charge by pointing to the minor’s independence.1Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:92 – Contributing to the Delinquency of Juveniles
The Three Penalty Tiers
Standard Penalty: Up to $500 and Six Months
Most violations of RS 14:92 sit at the baseline. Encouraging a child to go to an alcohol-serving establishment, run away from home, or violate a state law or local ordinance carries a fine of up to $500, imprisonment for up to six months, or both. This is the default tier for any subsection the statute does not assign a harsher sentence to.1Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:92 – Contributing to the Delinquency of Juveniles
Non-Violent Felony Involvement: Up to $1,000 and Two Years
If the adult encourages a child to participate in a felony that is not classified as a crime of violence and does not involve controlled substances, the penalty rises to a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment with or without hard labor for up to two years, or both. Certain other specified violations under the statute carry the same penalty.1Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:92 – Contributing to the Delinquency of Juveniles
Violent Felony or Drug Felony: Two to Ten Years at Hard Labor
The top tier applies when the adult involves a child in a crime of violence that constitutes a felony, or in a felony violation of Louisiana’s Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law. A conviction carries imprisonment at hard labor for not less than two years and not more than ten years, or imprisonment matching the sentence for the underlying felony, whichever is less. There is no fine-only option at this tier; prison time is mandatory.1Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:92 – Contributing to the Delinquency of Juveniles
The “whichever is less” clause can meaningfully cap the sentence. If the underlying felony carries a maximum of five years, the contributing conviction tops out at five years as well, even though the statute would otherwise allow up to ten.
Age Rules and Why “I Didn’t Know” Won’t Work
The statute draws a hard age line at both ends. The accused must be over 17, and the child must be under 17. If the person said to have been corrupted was actually 17 or older when the conduct occurred, the charge fails, because the statute only protects children under 17.1Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:92 – Contributing to the Delinquency of Juveniles
What the statute does not allow is the defense most people reach for first. Lack of knowledge of the juvenile’s age is explicitly not a defense. The law states this in a single blunt sentence. Believing a 16-year-old was 18, no matter how reasonable the belief, offers no protection from conviction.2Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:92 – Contributing to the Delinquency of Juveniles
A Related Charge for Parents and Guardians
Louisiana has a separate statute, RS 14:92.1, aimed more squarely at people with custodial responsibility. It covers parents, legal guardians, custodians, and other individuals who encourage or contribute to a child’s dependency, delinquency, or neglect. The scope is broader than RS 14:92 because it reaches dependency and neglect as well as delinquency.3Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:92.1 – Encouraging or Contributing to Child Delinquency, Dependency, or Neglect
A conviction under 14:92.1 carries a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment for up to six months, or both. The court can suspend the sentence and attach conditions on the defendant’s future conduct, with compliance becoming the price of staying out of jail. These cases are heard in juvenile court rather than district court.3Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:92.1 – Encouraging or Contributing to Child Delinquency, Dependency, or Neglect4Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Children’s Code Article 312 – Juvenile Jurisdiction Over Adults
Criminal exposure under 14:92.1 does not displace civil liability. Under Civil Code Article 2318, both parents are liable for damage caused by a minor child who resides with them or whom they have placed in the care of others, and tutors carry the same responsibility. The article caps nothing by dollar amount; a child who causes $50,000 in property damage leaves the parents on the hook for the full sum. The only carve-outs involve emancipation: by marriage, by a judgment of full emancipation, or by a judgment of limited emancipation that expressly relieves the parents of liability.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Article 2318 – Acts of a Minor A single incident can produce both a 14:92.1 prosecution and an Article 2318 lawsuit.
Defenses That Can Actually Work
The statute requires intentional conduct, and intent is where most viable defenses live. The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused deliberately enticed, aided, or permitted the child’s delinquent behavior. Accidental involvement, genuine ignorance of what the child was doing, or evidence that the adult tried to intervene can all undercut the intent element.1Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:92 – Contributing to the Delinquency of Juveniles
Proving the alleged minor was actually 17 or older through documentation ends the case, because the protected class is defined by age. That is a narrow factual defense, not a broader opening to argue about what the adult reasonably believed about age.2Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:92 – Contributing to the Delinquency of Juveniles
Some defense arguments draw on steps the accused took to prevent the child’s conduct or to act in the child’s interest. The statute does not create an explicit affirmative defense along those lines, but evidence of intervention or protection can erode the prosecution’s showing of intentional encouragement. How far that evidence goes depends on the facts and on the judge or jury weighing them.