Oklahoma § 21-843.5 - See the following versions:

Full text of Oklahoma Oklahoma Statutes § 21-843.5 — See the following versions:, with citation guidance and answers to common questions.

§ 21-843.5. See the following versions:

OS 21-843.5v1 (HB 3936, Laws 2024, c. 59, 6)

OS 21-843.5v2 (SB 599, Laws 2025, c. 281, § 1)

OS 21-843.5v3 (HB 2104, Laws 2025, c. 486, § 8)

§21-843.5v1. Child abuse - Child neglect - Child sexual abuse Child sexual exploitation - Enabling - Penalties.

A. Any person who shall willfully or maliciously engage in

child abuse, as defined in this section, shall, upon conviction, be

guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the custody of the

Department of Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by

imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or by a

fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than

Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both such fine and

imprisonment.

B. Any person responsible for the health, safety or welfare of

a child who shall willfully or maliciously engage in enabling child

abuse, as defined in this section, shall, upon conviction, be

punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of

Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in a

county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or by a fine of not less

than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Five Thousand

Dollars ($5,000.00) or both such fine and imprisonment.

C. Any person responsible for the health, safety or welfare of

a child who shall willfully or maliciously engage in child neglect,

as defined in this section, shall, upon conviction, be punished by

imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections not

exceeding life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in a county jail not

exceeding one (1) year, or by a fine of not less than Five Hundred

Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00),

or both such fine and imprisonment.

D. Any parent or other person who shall willfully or

maliciously engage in enabling child neglect shall, upon conviction,

be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of

Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in a

county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or by a fine of not less

than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Five Thousand

Dollars ($5,000.00), or both such fine and imprisonment.

E. Any person responsible for the health, safety or welfare of

a child who shall willfully or maliciously engage in child sexual

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 21. Crimes and Punishments

abuse, as defined in this section, shall, upon conviction, be

punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of

Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in a

county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or by a fine of not less

than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Five Thousand

Dollars ($5,000.00), or both such fine and imprisonment, except as

provided in Section 51.1a of this title or as otherwise provided in

subsection F of this section for a child victim under twelve (12)

years of age. Except for persons sentenced to life or life without

parole, any person sentenced to imprisonment for two (2) years or

more for a violation of this subsection shall be required to serve a

term of post-imprisonment supervision pursuant to subparagraph f of

paragraph 1 of subsection A of Section 991a of Title 22 of the

Oklahoma Statutes under conditions determined by the Department of

Corrections. The jury shall be advised that the mandatory postimprisonment supervision shall be in addition to the actual

imprisonment.

F. Any person responsible for the health, safety or welfare of

a child who shall willfully or maliciously engage in child sexual

abuse, as defined in this section, to a child under twelve (12)

years of age shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment in

the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than

twenty-five (25) years nor more than life imprisonment, and by a

fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than

Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00).

G. Any parent or other person who shall willfully or

maliciously engage in enabling child sexual abuse shall, upon

conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the

Department of Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by

imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or by a

fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than

Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both such fine and

imprisonment.

H. Any person who shall willfully or maliciously engage in

child sexual exploitation, as defined in this section, shall, upon

conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the

Department of Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by

imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or by a

fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than

Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both such fine and

imprisonment except as provided in subsection I of this section for

a child victim under twelve (12) years of age. Except for persons

sentenced to life or life without parole, any person sentenced to

imprisonment for two (2) years or more for a violation of this

subsection shall be required to serve a term of post-imprisonment

supervision pursuant to subparagraph f of paragraph 1 of subsection

A of Section 991a of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes under

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 21. Crimes and Punishments

conditions determined by the Department of Corrections. The jury

shall be advised that the mandatory post-imprisonment supervision

shall be in addition to the actual imprisonment.

I. Any person who shall willfully or maliciously engage in

child sexual exploitation, as defined in this section, of a child

under twelve (12) years of age shall, upon conviction, be punished

by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for

not less than twenty-five (25) years nor more than life

imprisonment, and by a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars

($500.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00).

J. Any person responsible for the health, safety or welfare of

a child who shall willfully or maliciously engage in enabling child

sexual exploitation, as defined in this section, shall, upon

conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the

Department of Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by

imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or by a

fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than

Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both such fine and

imprisonment.

K. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person

convicted of forcible anal or oral sodomy, rape, rape by

instrumentation, or lewd molestation of a child under fourteen (14)

years of age subsequent to a previous conviction for any offense of

forcible anal or oral sodomy, rape, rape by instrumentation, or lewd

molestation of a child under fourteen (14) years of age shall be

punished by death or by imprisonment for life without parole.

L. Provided, however, that nothing contained in this section

shall prohibit any parent or guardian from using reasonable and

ordinary force pursuant to Section 844 of this title.

M. Consent shall not be a defense for any violation provided

for in this section.

N. Notwithstanding the age requirements of other statutes

referenced within this section, this section shall apply to any

child under eighteen (18) years of age.

O. As used in this section:

1. "Child abuse" means:

the willful or malicious harm or threatened harm or

failure to protect from harm or threatened harm to the

health, safety or welfare of a child under eighteen

(18) years of age by a person responsible for a

child's health, safety or welfare, or

the act of willfully or maliciously injuring,

torturing or maiming a child under eighteen (18) years

of age by any person;

2. "Child neglect" means the willful or malicious neglect, as

defined by Section 1-1-105 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes, of

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 21. Crimes and Punishments

a child under eighteen (18) years of age by a person responsible for

a child's health, safety or welfare;

3. "Child sexual abuse" means the willful or malicious sexual

abuse of a child under eighteen (18) years of age by a person

responsible for a child's health, safety or welfare and includes,

but is not limited to:

sexual intercourse,

penetration of the vagina or anus, however slight, by

an inanimate object or any part of the human body not

amounting to sexual intercourse,

sodomy,

incest, or

a lewd act or proposal, as defined in this section;

4. "Child sexual exploitation" means the willful or malicious

sexual exploitation of a child under eighteen (18) years of age by

another and includes, but is not limited to:

human trafficking, as provided for in Section 748 of

this title, if the offense involved child trafficking

for commercial sex,

trafficking in children, as provided for in Section

866 of this title, if the offense was committed for

the sexual gratification of any person,

procuring or causing the participation of a minor in

child sexual abuse material, as provided for in

Section 1021.2 of this title,

purchase, procurement or possession of child sexual

abuse material, as provided for in Section 1024.2 of

this title,

engaging in or soliciting prostitution, as provided

for in Section 1029 of this title, if the offense

involved child prostitution,

publication, distribution or participation in the

preparation of obscene material, as provided for in

Section 1040.8 of this title, if the offense involved

child sexual abuse material,

aggravated possession of child sexual abuse material,

as provided for in Section 1040.12a of this title,

sale or distribution of obscene material, as provided

for in Section 1040.13 of this title,

soliciting sexual conduct or communication with a

minor by use of technology, as provided for in Section

1040.13 of this title,

offering or transporting a child for purposes of

prostitution, as provided for in Section 1087 of this

title, and

child prostitution, as provided for in Section 1088 of

this title;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 21. Crimes and Punishments

5. "Enabling child abuse" means the causing, procuring or

permitting of child abuse by a person responsible for a child's

health, safety or welfare;

6. "Enabling child neglect" means the causing, procuring or

permitting of child neglect by a person responsible for a child's

health, safety or welfare;

7. "Enabling child sexual abuse" means the causing, procuring

or permitting of child sexual abuse by a person responsible for a

child's health, safety or welfare;

8. "Enabling child sexual exploitation" means the causing,

procuring or permitting of child sexual exploitation by a person

responsible for a child's health, safety or welfare;

9. "Incest" means marrying, committing adultery or fornicating

with a child by a person responsible for the health, safety or

welfare of a child;

10. "Lewd act or proposal" means:

making any oral, written or electronic or computergenerated lewd or indecent proposal to a child for the

child to have unlawful sexual relations or sexual

intercourse with any person,

looking upon, touching, mauling or feeling the body or

private parts of a child in a lewd or lascivious

manner or for the purpose of sexual gratification,

asking, inviting, enticing or persuading any child to

go alone with any person to a secluded, remote or

secret place for a lewd or lascivious purpose,

urinating or defecating upon a child or causing,

forcing or requiring a child to defecate or urinate

upon the body or private parts of another person for

the purpose of sexual gratification,

ejaculating upon or in the presence of a child,

causing, exposing, forcing or requiring a child to

look upon the body or private parts of another person

for the purpose of sexual gratification,

causing, forcing or requiring any child to view any

obscene materials, child sexual abuse material or

materials deemed harmful to minors as such terms are

defined in Sections 1024.1 and 1040.75 of this title,

causing, exposing, forcing or requiring a child to

look upon sexual acts performed in the presence of the

child for the purpose of sexual gratification, or

causing, forcing or requiring a child to touch or feel

the body or private parts of the child or another

person for the purpose of sexual gratification;

11. "Permit" means to authorize or allow for the care of a

child by an individual when the person authorizing or allowing such

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 21. Crimes and Punishments

care knows or reasonably should know that the child will be placed

at risk of the conduct or harm proscribed by this section;

12. "Person responsible for a child's health, safety or

welfare" for purposes of this section shall include, but not be

limited to:

the parent of the child,

the legal guardian of the child,

the custodian of the child,

the foster parent of the child,

a person eighteen (18) years of age or older with whom

the parent of the child cohabitates, who is at least

three (3) years older than the child,

any other person eighteen (18) years of age or older

residing in the home of the child, who is at least

three (3) years older than the child,

an owner, operator, agent, employee or volunteer of a

public or private residential home, institution,

facility or day treatment program, as defined in

Section 175.20 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes,

that the child attended,

an owner, operator, agent, employee or volunteer of a

child care facility, as defined in Section 402 of

Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes, that the child

attended,

an intimate partner of the parent of the child, as

defined in Section 60.1 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma

Statutes, or

a person who has voluntarily accepted responsibility

for the care or supervision of a child;

13. "Sexual intercourse" means the actual penetration, however

slight, of the vagina or anus by the penis; and

14. "Sodomy" means:

penetration, however slight, of the mouth of the child

by a penis,

penetration, however slight, of the vagina of a person

responsible for a child's health, safety or welfare,

by the mouth of a child,

penetration, however slight, of the mouth of the

person responsible for a child's health, safety or

welfare by the penis of the child, or

penetration, however slight, of the vagina of the

child by the mouth of the person responsible for a

child's health, safety or welfare.

Added by Laws 1963, c. 53, § 1, emerg. eff. May 8, 1963. Amended by

Laws 1975, c. 250, § 2, emerg. eff. June 2, 1975; Laws 1977, c. 172,

§ 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1977; Laws 1982, c. 7, § 1, operative Oct. 1,

1982; Laws 1989, c. 348, § 12, eff. Nov. 1, 1989; Laws 1990, c. 224,

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 21. Crimes and Punishments

§ 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1990; Laws 1995, c. 353, § 15, eff. Nov. 1, 1995.

Renumbered from § 843 of this title by Laws 1995, c. 353, § 20, eff.

Nov. 1, 1995. Amended by Laws 1996, c. 200, § 15, eff. Nov. 1,

1996; Laws 1997, c. 133, § 127, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 1999, 1st

Ex. Sess., c. 5, § 57, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2000, c. 291, § 1,

eff. Nov. 1, 2000; Laws 2002, c. 455, § 7, emerg. eff. June 5, 2002;

Laws 2006, c. 326, § 1, eff. July 1, 2006; Laws 2007, c. 325, § 1,

eff. Nov. 1, 2007; Laws 2008, c. 3, § 5, emerg. eff. Feb. 28, 2008.

Renumbered from § 7115 of Title 10 by Laws 2009, c. 233, § 207,

emerg. eff. May 21, 2009. Amended by Laws 2010, c. 278, § 18, eff.

Nov. 1, 2010; Laws 2014, c. 240, § 1, emerg. eff. May 9, 2014; Laws

2019, c. 284, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2019; Laws 2021, c. 331, § 1, eff.

Nov. 1, 2021; Laws 2024, c. 59, § 6, eff. Nov. 1, 2024.

NOTE: Laws 2007, c. 261, § 1 repealed by Laws 2008, c. 3, § 6,

emerg. eff. Feb. 28, 2008. Laws 2010, c. 23, § 1 repealed by Laws

2011, c. 1, § 13, emerg. eff. March 18, 2011.

§21-843.5v2. Child abuse - Child neglect - Child sexual abuse Child sexual exploitation - Enabling – Penalties.

A. Any person who shall willfully or maliciously engage in

child abuse, as defined in this section, shall, upon conviction, be

guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the custody of the

Department of Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by

imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or by a

fine not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Five

Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both such fine and imprisonment.

B. Any person responsible for the health, safety, or welfare of

a child who shall willfully or maliciously engage in enabling child

abuse, as defined in this section, shall, upon conviction, be

punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of

Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in a

county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or by a fine not less than

Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars

($5,000.00), or both such fine and imprisonment.

C. Any person responsible for the health, safety, or welfare of

a child who shall willfully or maliciously engage in child neglect,

as defined in this section, shall, upon conviction, be punished by

imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections not

exceeding life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in a county jail not

exceeding one (1) year, or by a fine not less than Five Hundred

Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00),

or both such fine and imprisonment.

D. Any parent or other person who shall willfully or

maliciously engage in enabling child neglect shall, upon conviction,

be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of

Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in a

county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or by a fine not less than

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 21. Crimes and Punishments

Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars

($5,000.00), or both such fine and imprisonment.

E. Any person responsible for the health, safety, or welfare of

a child who shall willfully or maliciously engage in child sexual

abuse, as defined in this section, shall, upon conviction, be

punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of

Corrections not exceeding life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in a

county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or by a fine not less than

Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars

($5,000.00), or both such fine and imprisonment, except as provided

in Section 51.1a of this title or as otherwise provided in