Bill Would Make It Illegal To Interfere With Child Abuse Report

ANNAPOLIS, MD - Lawmakers in the Maryland General Assembly are considering a bill to make it illegal not to report child abuse.

Senator Chris Shank is sponsoring the bill. It would make it a crime to prevent or interfere with reporting child abuse or neglect.

"If somebody stands in the way and says I don't want you to do that because of a relationship they might have with the potential abuser, because of some fear of a backlash like we saw up in Penn State, I want those people to think twice about standing in the way of making certain, absolutely certain, that our kids are protected," says Shank, (R) - Washington County.

The bill would make it a misdemeanor carrying a punishment of up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.

"There are situations where child abuse and neglect and sexual abuse have not been investigated properly in Maryland because someone tried to stand in the way," Shank says. "We had a horrible situation down in southern Maryland where a principal actually prevented a child abuse case from being reported."

Shank also has a second bill to provide more training on child abuse to professionals, such as teachers and doctors.

Delegate Michael Hough, (R) - Frederick & Washington Counties, is sponsoring the bill in the Maryland House of Delegates.

You can read the bill by clicking here.