§49-7-7 Contributing to delinquency or neglect of a child.
§49-7-7. Contributing to delinquency or neglect of a child.
(a) A person who by any act or omission contributes to, encourages or tends to cause the delinquency or neglect of any child, including, but not limited to, aiding or encouraging any such child to habitually or continually refuse to respond, without just cause, to the lawful supervision of such child's parents, guardian or custodian or to be habitually absent from school without just cause, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail for a period not exceeding one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
(b) In addition to any penalty provided under this section and any restitution which may be ordered by the court under article eleven-a of chapter sixty-one, the court may order any person convicted under the provisions of this section to pay all or any portion of the cost of medical, psychological or psychiatric treatment of the child resulting from the act or acts for which the person is convicted, whether or not the child is considered to have sustained bodily injury.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any parent, guardian or custodian who fails or refuses, or allows another person to fail or refuse, to supply a child under the care, custody or control of such parent, guardian or custodian with necessary medical care, when such medical care conflicts with the tenets and practices of a recognized religious denomination or order of which such parent, guardian or custodian is an adherent or member.