The sentence that we share today has caught our attention for being a clear case of how certain practices as parents can even have criminal consequences.
It is a decision of the Provincial Court of Huelva, which confirms the sentence of 3 months in prison imposed by the Criminal Court No. 4 of Huelva to the parents of a 13-year-old girl for allowing her to miss class more than a hundred times, 94 of them from 2013 to 2014.
Specifically, they were sentenced as perpetrators ofa crime against family relations, considering that the parents had “full knowledge of their daughter’s absenteeism”. If you have doubts about any case related to Family Law, consult our lawyers in Barcelona. According to the sentence, the judge considers it proven that from 2011 to 2014, these parents “have been failing to comply with their duties inherent to the parental authority regarding the attendance of the minor first to school and then to high school, thus violating the legally established duty of education”. For the judge, “the high rate of absenteeism has been due to the disregard of the parents for the formal education of their daughter, allowing with full knowledge and consent that she was absent from school on numerous occasions”.
At the same time, Europa Press explains that during all these periods“the parents were punctually informed of the compulsory nature of the education and of the consequences of non-compliance without the actions carried out by the school, the social services and the absenteeism technical team having corrected their behavior”. Specifically, in the period reaching from October 31, 2011 to June 20, 2014, the minor totaled more than one hundred unexcused absences, 94 of them corresponding to the 2013-2014 academic year, leaving the institute the following year.
Both parents filed an appeal after the first judgment, which argued an error in the assessment of the evidence practiced, which in turn was divided into two aspects: on the one hand, the weakness of the prosecution’s evidence and, on the other hand, it emphasized the impossibility of the parents to effectively control their daughter’s class attendance.
However, The Court upheld the prison sentence, considering that the parents had “full knowledge of their daughter’s absenteeism”, although it granted them the benefit of a suspended prison sentence on condition that they do not reoffend within two years.
Going to jail for tolerating a child’s truancy
This is not an isolated case, but it is true that it is not a common situation.
However, normally the prison sentences imposed in these cases do not reach one year and it is usual that the parents do not have to go to jail, imposing fines or depriving them in occasions (few) of the parental authority of the minor.
An article of the Penal Code frequently used in these cases is the one reproduced below:
Article 2261. Whoever fails to fulfill the legal duties of assistance inherent to parental authority, guardianship, custody or foster care or to provide the necessary assistance legally established for the support of their descendants, ascendants or spouse, who are in need, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to six months or a fine of six to 12 months. 2. The Judge or Court may impose, with reasoned reasons, on the defendant the penalty of special disqualification for the exercise of the right of parental authority, guardianship, guardianship or foster care for a period of four to ten years.
It must be taken into account that the exercise of parental authority implies a series of specific duties set forth in the law.
This must always be exercised for the benefit of the children and imposed on the parents, among other duties, the obligation to be with them, take care of them, protect them, feed them, educate them, provide them with an integral formation, legally represent them and administer their property.
In addition, parents may be deprived of parental authority when they fail to comply with the duties deriving from parental authority, always by a judge. Parents may also be deprived or suspended from exercising parental authority when their conduct endangers the training of minors or incapable persons or when they are treated with excessive harshness, which implies not only severe physical punishment but all kinds of acts involving cruelty or abuse of authority.
On the other hand, parents may be reinstated in parental authority if they can prove that the circumstances that led to their deprivation no longer exist.
Finally, it is important to take into account that the jurisprudential criterion on the suspension or deprivation of par ental authority is restrictive, stating that such a serious measure must be adopted as a precautionary measure and always in clear and serious cases of breach of the duties inherent to it, without being able to set general criteria but must be assessed on a case-by-case basis and taking into account the interests of the children.
In cases of repeated truancy, moreover, before criminal charges are brought against the parents, there are three levels of action.
The first is the intervention of the schools, which will try to get the children back to school.
If this is not enough, the case will be brought to the attention of the educational guidance teams and the absenteeism technical teams, both bodies belonging to Education.
In parallel, the social agencies will act and, if the children do not stop missing classes, a third level is reached in which the provincial absenteeism commission intervenes and the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office begins to investigate the matter. If you need help in any case related to minors, family law or family-related crimes, contact our lawyers in Barcelona.
