Conn. Crim. Jury Instr. 6.11-9

Public Accommodation or Motor Vehicle Between

8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. -- § 53-21a (c)

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

accommodation / motor vehicle) between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. 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)

between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. 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) between 8:00

p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

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) between

hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

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

accommodation / motor vehicle) between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

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

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

1]

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.

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.

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) between the hours of

8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., 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) between

the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. 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).