Section 609 – Failure to report — Threats and intimidation — Penalty.

• (1) If the division has substantial grounds to believe that a person knowingly failed to report under Section 80-2-602 or 80-2-603, the division shall file a complaint with:
  • (a) the Division of Professional Licensing if the person is a health care provider, as defined in Subsection 80-2-603(1)(a)(i), or a mental health therapist, as defined in Section 58-60-102;
  • (b) the appropriate law enforcement agency if the person is a law enforcement officer, as defined in Section 53-13-103; or
  • (c) the State Board of Education if the person is an educator, as defined in Section 53E-6-102.

• (2)
  • (a) A person is guilty of a class B misdemeanor if the person willfully fails to report under Section 80-2-602 or 80-2-603.
  • (b) If a person is convicted under Subsection (2)(a), the court may order the person, in addition to any other sentence the court imposes, to:
    • (i) complete community service hours; or
    • (ii) complete a program on preventing abuse and neglect of children.
  • (c) In determining whether it would be appropriate to charge a person with a violation of Subsection (2)(a), the prosecuting attorney shall take into account whether a reasonable person would not have reported suspected abuse or neglect of a child because reporting would have placed the person in immediate danger of death or serious bodily injury.
  • (d) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, a prosecuting attorney may not use a person’s violation of Subsection (2)(a) as the basis for charging the person with another offense.
  • (e) A prosecution for failure to report under Subsection (2)(a) shall be commenced within two years after the day on which the person had knowledge of the suspected abuse or neglect or the circumstances described in Subsection 80-2-603(2) and willfully failed to report.

• (3) Under circumstances not amounting to a violation of Section 76-8-508, a person is guilty of a class B misdemeanor if the person threatens, intimidates, or attempts to intimidate a child who is the subject of the report under Section 80-2-602 or 80-2-603, the person who made the report, a witness, or any other person cooperating with an investigation conducted in accordance with this chapter or Chapter 2a, Removal and Protective Custody of a Child.

Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 334, 2022 General Session
Amended by Chapter 415, 2022 General Session