Tennessee State Representative Jake McCalmon (R-Franklin) introduced a bill last week that would increase the criminal penalty for abusing a child aged 9-17.
McCalmon’s bill, filed as HB 0045, would “increase the penalty from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony for a person who commits child abuse by knowingly treating a child between the ages of nine and 17 in such a manner as to inflict injury.”
Abusing a child “in such a manner to inflict injury” in Tennessee is currently only classified as a felony if the child is 8 years old and under, according to state law.
In child abuse cases where the child is 9 years old and older, the penalty is currently classified as a Class A misdemeanor.
The bill, introduced in the Tennessee House of Representatives on December 19 for the upcoming legislative session, still needs a sponsor in the Tennessee Senate to be considered by lawmakers.
If passed by the Tennessee General Assembly, McCalmon’s bill would go into effect on July 1, 2025.
In a statement to WKRN, McCalmon (pictured above) said he introduced the bill after he became aware that under current law, grand theft, or stealing property valued at $500 or more, carries a harsher punishment than abusing and injuring children above the age of 9.
“I use the example of, say if I go and steal a Louis Vuitton purse for my wife. That’s a Class E felony. I could do up to five years in prison. But if somebody decides to beat a kid to the point where they’re hospitalized, that’s a Class A misdemeanor. I say we value kids more than we value things in Tennessee, so it should at least be a Class E felony if you’re going to put a 9 to 17-year-old in the hospital,” McCalmon told the outlet.
McCalmon’s bill comes as Tennessee’s 2023 State of the Child Report shows that the state was the 15th highest in the nation with recurring child abuse victims.
“In 2021, Tennessee had 3,962 first-time victims of abuse, representing the fourth lowest rate in the country. Across all victimization, both first-time and recurring, Tennessee ranks 15th, indicating the state experiences higher instances of recurring abuse than others,” the report reads.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
