Mangum v. State

The sole question here is whether a prosecution for abandonment under Code § 74-9902 is maintainable against the putative father of a minor child who is illegitimate. Aban*521donment of a child, legitimate or otherwise, was not a criminal offense at common law (67 C. J. S. 817, § 91). The proceeding is statutory and criminal in nature, and accordingly subject to a strict construction. Code Chapter 74-3, expressly provides the method by which the father of an illegitimate child may be required to support such child, and § 74-9901 makes his failure to do so a misdemeanor. In Nixon v. Perry, 77 Ga.…