Texas Penal Code Section 22.04, injury to a child, makes it a felony to cause physical or mental harm to a child 14 or younger, either by direct action or by failing to act when you had a duty to protect the child. Every violation is a felony. Depending on how badly the child was hurt and what the defendant was thinking at the time, the charge can be anything from a state jail felony carrying 180 days to 2 years, up to a first-degree felony carrying 5 to 99 years or life in prison.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.04 – Injury to a Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled Individual
What the Statute Covers
The offense can be committed in two ways. The first is an act: hitting, burning, shaking, or any other conduct that causes harm. The second is an omission, meaning a failure to act when you had a legal duty to protect the child.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.04 – Injury to a Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled Individual A parent who fails to seek emergency medical care for a two-year-old can be charged just as seriously as a parent who caused an injury directly.
The duty to protect reaches beyond biological parents. Stepparents, legal guardians, babysitters, daycare workers, teachers, and anyone else who has accepted responsibility for a child’s well-being can be prosecuted for an omission. If you are watching a friend’s children for the weekend and one of them is being harmed by another adult in the home, choosing to do nothing is treated as an omission under the statute. Employees and operators of group homes, nursing facilities, and similar institutional care settings fall under their own branch of the statute, with the omission rule written to capture institutional failures.
For purposes of Section 22.04, a child is anyone 14 years of age or younger. The cutoff is rigid. A 15-year-old victim would be covered by a different statute, such as standard assault under Section 22.01. The same section also protects elderly individuals and disabled individuals, but the age ceiling for the child branch does not stretch to teenagers.
Bodily Injury vs. Serious Bodily Injury
The injury classification does half the work of setting the penalty. Bodily injury means any physical pain, illness, or impairment of physical condition.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 1.07 – Definitions That threshold is low. A bruise, a painful scratch, or a stomach illness from unsanitary conditions can qualify. Prosecutors do not need lasting damage.
Serious bodily injury is a much higher bar. It means harm that creates a substantial risk of death, causes permanent disfigurement, or results in the long-term loss or impairment of a body part or organ.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 1.07 – Definitions A broken arm that heals normally might not qualify. A broken arm that never regains full function likely does. Burns that leave permanent scarring, head injuries that cause lasting cognitive problems, and internal organ damage all fall on the serious side.
Section 22.04 also covers serious mental deficiency, impairment, or injury, treated the same as serious bodily injury for penalty purposes.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.04 – Injury to a Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled Individual Severe psychological trauma from abuse can produce first-degree felony charges just as readily as a physical wound.
The Four Mental States
Texas recognizes four levels of culpability, ranked from most to least blameworthy.3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 6.03 – Definitions of Culpable Mental States Which one the prosecution proves decides the felony class.
Acting intentionally means the person’s conscious goal was to cause the result that occurred. A parent who deliberately burns a child’s hand as punishment acted intentionally. Acting knowingly means the person was aware their conduct was reasonably certain to cause the result, even if causing the harm was not the specific goal. Throwing a heavy object toward a child while aware it will likely strike them satisfies this standard.
Acting recklessly means the person recognized a substantial and unjustifiable risk and chose to ignore it. Leaving a loaded firearm within reach of a toddler, aware that doing so creates a serious danger, is a textbook example. The disregard must amount to a gross deviation from what a reasonable person would do. Criminal negligence is similar but turns on awareness: the person should have recognized the risk but did not. That failure to perceive must itself be a gross deviation from ordinary care.
For direct acts, all four mental states can support a charge. For omissions by anyone other than an institutional care employee, criminal negligence alone is not enough; the prosecution must prove at least recklessness.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.04 – Injury to a Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled Individual
Felony Classifications and Penalties
Every offense under Section 22.04 is a felony. The class depends on the combination of mental state and injury level.
First-Degree Felony
Intentionally or knowingly causing serious bodily injury or serious mental impairment to a child is a first-degree felony. The punishment range is 5 to 99 years in prison, or life, plus a fine of up to $10,000.4State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.32 – First Degree Felony Punishment That is the same range as murder.
Second-Degree Felony
Recklessly causing serious bodily injury or serious mental impairment is a second-degree felony. The range is 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment The injury is just as severe as in a first-degree case; the step down reflects that the prosecution could not prove intent or knowledge.
Third-Degree Felony
Intentionally or knowingly causing bodily injury that does not reach the “serious” threshold is a third-degree felony. The range is 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.6State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment Many cases involving deliberate conduct and visible but non-catastrophic injuries land here.
State Jail Felony
Two paths lead to a state jail felony: recklessly causing ordinary bodily injury, or causing serious bodily injury through criminal negligence. The punishment is 180 days to 2 years in a state jail facility and a fine of up to $10,000.7State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.35 – State Jail Felony Punishment Even at the lowest tier, this is still a felony and carries the lasting consequences of one.
When Discipline Is a Defense
Texas law allows parents, stepparents, grandparents, guardians, and anyone else acting with parental authority to use non-deadly force to discipline a child younger than 18, so long as the force is reasonable and the person genuinely believes it is necessary for discipline or to safeguard the child’s welfare.8State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 9.61 – Parent-Child This is the legal foundation for the common understanding that spanking is not automatically a crime in Texas.
The defense has real limits. Deadly force is never justified for discipline. The force must be proportional and genuinely aimed at correction. A single open-hand swat on a clothed bottom is a very different legal picture than hitting a child with a belt hard enough to leave welts. Once the discipline causes bodily injury as defined by the Penal Code, the parental privilege stops protecting the parent and Section 22.04 takes over. Juries evaluate reasonableness on the totality of circumstances, and prosecutors regularly charge parents who claim they were “just disciplining” a child whose injuries tell another story.
How Long Prosecutors Have to File
Texas gives the state a long window for these cases. The limitations period runs until 10 years after the victim’s 18th birthday, meaning charges can be filed until the victim turns 28.9State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 12.01 – Felonies Child abuse often goes unreported while the victim is still under the abuser’s control, and this deadline reflects that reality. Many cases surface years later when the victim is old enough to come forward or when a separate incident triggers an investigation.
Mandatory Reporting
Texas requires anyone with reasonable cause to believe a child has been abused or neglected to report it immediately.10State of Texas. Texas Family Code 261.101 – Persons Required to Report, Time for Report Every person in Texas is a mandatory reporter. Reports go to the Department of Family and Protective Services or law enforcement.
Licensed professionals, including teachers, nurses, doctors, daycare employees, social workers, and clergy, must report no later than 48 hours after first suspecting abuse. The reporting duty applies even when the information came through otherwise privileged communications, such as a confession to a pastor or statements made during therapy. Knowingly failing to report is a Class A misdemeanor; a professional who fails to report with intent to conceal the abuse commits a state jail felony. Texas law provides immunity from civil and criminal liability for reports made in good faith, even when the investigation does not substantiate the claim.
Consequences Beyond Prison
A conviction under Section 22.04 creates problems that outlast any sentence. Because the offense is always a felony, a conviction permanently strips the right to possess firearms under both Texas and federal law, closes off many professional licenses, and appears on every background check.
For parents, the most severe collateral consequence may be the loss of parental rights. Texas Family Code Section 161.001 lists a conviction under Section 22.04 as a specific ground for terminating the parent-child relationship, provided the conviction involved the death or serious injury of a child.11State of Texas. Texas Family Code 161.001 – Involuntary Termination of Parent-Child Relationship Courts have applied this ground even when the conviction involved a different child than the one in the termination proceeding. A conviction for seriously injuring one child can be used to sever the legal relationship with all of your children.
A conviction also triggers a Child Protective Services investigation that can result in placement on the state’s central registry of child abuse findings. Being on that registry bars employment at schools, daycare facilities, foster care agencies, and any other position working with children. For anyone whose career involves contact with vulnerable populations, a conviction under this statute effectively ends that career.