In Massachusetts the penalties are severe for anyone driving drunk with a child (aged 14 or younger) in the car.
The driver will face the customary OUI charge as well as an additional charge for child endangerment under M.G.L. c. 90, Section 24V.
Unlike most criminal charges, “OUI child endangerment” cannot be continued without a finding. So the defendant must either win at trial or plead “guilty” to the misdemeanor offense.
The punishment is mandated by law. A guilty defendant must receive a 90 day jail sentence. (See my post OUI Child Endangerment: Can You Suspend the Mandatory Sentence in Massachusetts?) A minimum fine of $1,000 is imposed and the defendant’s driver’s license is suspended for 1 year.
This hefty sentence is served “consecutive to” and not “concurrent with” the standard OUI penalties. Thus, the defendant will have to satisfy the terms of his or her OUI sentence (usually one year of probation with conditions) before the “child endangerment” punishment begins.
Subsequent OUI child endangerment charges are dealt with even more aggressively under the statute.