Lawmakers are reviewing Alaska’s child abuse law after advocates shared disturbing cases of physical abuse that fall outside current protection. Dr. Sean Dugan, head of the Alaska CARES program, presented lawmakers with images of children showing severe injuries from physical abuse.
Dugan argued that the law must redefine what constitutes unreasonable force to prevent abusers from exploiting legal loopholes. One horrifying case involved a toddler who suffered repeated burns on their feet with a lighter for making mistakes while learning the ABCs.
Dugan explained that such trauma can lead to lifelong triggers impacting the child’s mental and emotional well-being. He proposed that any act of throwing, burning, cutting, or stepping on a child should be explicitly prohibited.
Anchorage Police Department Sergeant Todd Kearns emphasized that law enforcement needs earlier intervention powers to prevent severe injuries or fatalities. He criticized a 2019 law change that limited mandatory reporting to sexual abuse cases, delaying police investigations into physical abuse incidents.
Kearns referred to a case where a six-month-old baby overdosed on fentanyl and received two doses of NARCAN before hospitalization. However, police could not investigate until three days later. By then, the home had been cleaned of any evidence.
He argued that delays give perpetrators time to cover up abuse, making conviction harder to secure. Senator Löki Gale Tobin confirmed that her office is working on drafting legislation to strengthen Alaska’s child abuse law, though no timeline has been set.
Representative Andi Story acknowledged the emotional weight of the discussion and stressed the importance of lawmakers uniting to protect children. Advocates insist that closing legal gaps will prevent future abuse from going unpunished.
They argue that the current law allows severe physical harm to be dismissed as discipline, leaving vulnerable children unprotected. Lawmakers now face the challenge of ensuring that no child suffers from preventable abuse due to legislative shortcomings.
This news article was originally published by Alaska’s News Source.
