§403. Abuse of children; reports; waiver of privilege

A.(1)(a) Any person who, pursuant to Children's Code Article 609(A), is required to report the abuse or neglect of a child and knowingly and willfully fails to so report shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

(b)(i) Any person who, pursuant to Children's Code Article 609(A), is required to report the sexual abuse of a child, or the abuse or neglect of a child that results in the serious bodily injury, neurological impairment, or death of the child, and the person knowingly and willfully fails to so report, shall be fined not more than three thousand dollars, imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than three years, or both.

(ii) For purposes of this Subparagraph, "serious bodily injury" includes but is not limited to injury involving protracted and obvious disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty, or substantial risk of death, or injury resulting from starvation or malnutrition.

(2) Any person, any employee of a local child protection unit of the Department of Children and Family Services, any employee of any local law enforcement agency, any employee or agent of any state department, or any school employee who knowingly and willfully violates the provisions of Chapter 5 of Title VI of the Children's Code, or who knowingly and willfully obstructs the procedures for receiving and investigating reports of child abuse or neglect or sexual abuse, or who discloses without authorization confidential information about or contained within such reports shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

(3) Any person who reports a child as abused or neglected or sexually abused to the department or to any law enforcement agency, knowing that such information is false, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

(4)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, any person who is eighteen years of age or older who witnesses the sexual abuse of a child and knowingly and willfully fails to report the sexual abuse to law enforcement or to the Department of Children and Family Services as required by Children's Code Article 610, shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars, imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than five years, or both.

(b) For purposes of this Paragraph, "sexual abuse" shall include but is not limited to the perpetration or attempted perpetration of R.S. 14:41, 42, 42.1, 43, 43.1, 43.2, 43.3, 43.4, 46.2, 46.3, 80, 81, 81.1, 81.2, 86, 89, or 89.1.

B. In any proceeding concerning the abuse or neglect or sexual abuse of a child or the cause of such condition, evidence may not be excluded on any ground of privilege, except in the case of communications between an attorney and his client or between a priest, rabbi, duly ordained minister or Christian Science practitioner and his communicant.

Acts 1964, No. 116, §§1 to 5. Amended by Acts 1970, No. 636, §1; Acts 1972, No. 556, §1; Acts 1974, No. 384, §1; Acts 1974, No. 596, §1; Acts 1975, No. 737, §1; Acts 1979, No. 664, §1; Acts 1979, No. 769, §1; Acts 1980, No. 495, §1; Acts 1983, No. 529, §1; Acts 1984, No. 690, §1; Acts 1985, No. 864, §1, eff. July 23, 1985; Acts 1985, No. 339, §1, eff. July 9, 1985; Acts 1985, No. 615, §1; Acts 1985, No. 198, §1, eff. July 6, 1985; Acts 1985, No. 658, §1; Acts 1986, No. 428, §1, eff. July 2, 1986; Acts 1986, No. 1006, §1; Acts 1987, No. 626, §1; Acts 1988, No. 437, §1; Acts 1989, No. 595, §1; Acts 1990, No. 439, §1, eff. July 18, 1990; Acts 1992, No. 705, §3, eff. July 6, 1992; Acts 2012, No. 268, §1, eff. May 25, 2012; Acts 2012, No. 614, §1, eff. June 7, 2012; Acts 2016, No. 302, §2; Acts 2018, No. 458, §1.