Conn. Crim. Jury Instr. 6.11-7

Public Accommodation or Motor Vehicle -- § 53-21a

(a)

The defendant is charged [in Count __] with leaving a child unsupervised in a (place of public

accommodation / motor vehicle). The statute defining this offense reads in pertinent part as

follows:

Any parent, guardian or person having custody or control, or providing supervision,

of any child under the age of twelve years who knowingly leaves such child

unsupervised in a (place of public accommodation / motor vehicle) for a period of

time that presents a substantial risk to the child’s health or safety shall be guilty of

leaving a child unsupervised in a (place of public accommodation / motor vehicle).

For you to find the defendant guilty of this crime, the state must prove each of the following

elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

Element 1 - Position of responsibility

The first element is that the defendant was a parent, guardian, or a person having custody and

control or providing supervision of the child.

Element 2 - Child under age of twelve

The second element is that the child was under the age of twelve years at the time of the alleged

offense. This means that the child had not yet reached (his/her) twelfth birthday.

Element 3 - Left unsupervised in (place of public accommodation / motor vehicle)

The third element is that the defendant left the child unsupervised in a (place of public

accommodation / motor vehicle).

A child is unsupervised when the child is not under constant observation by the defendant or

another person of sufficient age, competence, and authority to effectively oversee the child. In

considering this element you may take into account the distance between the child and the

defendant and any impediment to the defendant’s observation of the child.

[<Insert if applicable:> A place of “public accommodation” means any establishment which

caters or offers its services or facilities or goods to the general public.

1]

Element 4 - Knowingly

The fourth element is that the defendant knowingly left the child unsupervised. A person acts

“knowingly” with respect to conduct or a circumstance when (he/she) is aware that (his/her)

conduct is of such nature or that such circumstance exists. <See Knowledge, Instruction 2.3-3.>

Element 5 - Period of time presenting substantial risk to health or safety

The fifth element is that the child was left unsupervised for a period of time that presented a

substantial risk to (his/her) health or safety.

This is a question of fact for you to decide on the basis of all of the evidence. The state does not

have to prove that the child’s health or safety were actually impaired. Rather, the state must

prove that the period of time during which the child was left unsupervised presented a substantial

risk to (his/her) health or safety.

In deciding whether an unsupervised period of time posed a substantial risk to the child’s health

or safety, you must consider whether or not the defendant exercised judgment that a reasonable

person would use in determining whether the child was of sufficient age, maturity, physical

ability and mental ability to be unsupervised under the circumstances.

[<Insert if applicable:> You cannot make a finding of substantial risk to the child’s health or

safety based solely on the defendant allowing (him/her) to participate in independent activities,

including, but not limited to, traveling to and from school, traveling to and from commercial or

recreational facilities located near such child’s home and unsupervised outdoor play, provided

you find that: (1) the child is of sufficient age, maturity, physical ability and mental ability to

engage in such activities; and (2) the child’s participation would not lead a reasonable person to

believe that such participation creates an obvious danger to the child’s safety.]

Conclusion

In summary, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that 1) the defendant was (the

child’s parent / the child’s guardian / a person who had custody or control or provided

supervision over the child), 2) the child was under the age of twelve, 3) the defendant left the

child unsupervised in a (place of public accommodation / motor vehicle), 4) the defendant did so

knowingly and 5) the child was unsupervised for a period of time that presented a substantial risk

to (his/her) health or safety.

If you unanimously find that the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the elements

of leaving a child unsupervised in a (place of public accommodation / motor vehicle), then you

shall find the defendant guilty. On the other hand, if you unanimously find that the state has

failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any of the elements, you shall then find the defendant

not guilty.

1 General Statutes § 46a-63 (1).

2 The preceding two paragraphs are derived from General Statutes § 53-21a (a) (2), quoted

below. Note that this subdivision by its terms applies only to § 53-21a (a), and not to §§ 53-21a

(b), (c) or (d):

(2) In determining whether an action constitutes a violation of this subsection, (A)

consideration shall be given to whether or not the parent, guardian or person having

custody or control, or providing supervision, of a child under the age of twelve years

exercised judgment that a reasonable person would use in determining whether the child

was of sufficient age, maturity, physical ability and mental ability to be unsupervised

under the circumstances, and (B) no finding of substantial risk may be based solely on a

parent, guardian or person having custody or control, or providing supervision, of such

child allowing such child’s participation in independent activities, including, but not

limited to, traveling to and from school, traveling to and from commercial or recreational

facilities located near such child’s home and unsupervised outdoor play, provided such

child is of sufficient age, maturity, physical ability and mental ability to engage in such

activities and the child’s participation would not lead a reasonable person to believe that

such participation creates an obvious danger to the child’s safety.

(Emphasis added.)