State v. Freund

KLEIN, Judge.

The issue presented in this case is whether a denial of a petition for dependency bars a criminal action against the parent based on the same misconduct as the dependency case. We conclude the criminal action is not barred.

The petition for dependency alleged that Terri Freund left her two minor children, ages 1 and 5, alone and unsupervised, and that during that time the 1 year-old was injured when struck by a car. At the conclusion of the hearing on dependency the court denied the petition without making findings of fact.

The state subsequently filed an information alleging…