## Facts

- Shane T., a 14-year-old boy, lived with his mother and sisters; his parents were separated.
- Over several years, Shane’s father repeatedly insulted him with anti-gay slurs, including in public.
- The father’s conduct caused Shane severe distress, including crying, stomach pain, fear of his father, and the need for therapy.
- The father had a history of assaultive behavior in the home, contributing to Shane’s ongoing fear.
- The father also required Shane to remove the father’s shoes and massage his feet; Shane complied out of fear.
- Shane repeatedly asked his mother to stop the father’s conduct; her attempts to intervene ended, and the behavior continued.
- A child protective petition sought an adjudication that Shane was an abused child and alleged the mother failed to protect him.

## Issues

1. Whether a parent’s sustained verbal harassment and humiliation, combined with coercive, fear-based demands, can constitute “abuse” under the New York Family Court Act without physical force or a physical beating.
2. Whether “physical injury” for abuse purposes may be established by substantial pain or protracted impairment of emotional health caused by nonphysical conduct.
3. Whether a nonabusing parent may be found responsible for abuse based on failure to protect the child from known ongoing maltreatment.

## Decision

- The court adjudicated Shane an abused child as to both his father and his mother.
- The court held that physical injury for abuse purposes need not be inflicted by physical force; severe verbal abuse may suffice when it causes substantial pain or protracted impairment of emotional health (or substantial risk thereof).
- The court rejected the father’s claim that his conduct was permissible parental discipline.
- The court remanded Shane to the Commissioner of Social Services.
- The court ordered an immediate emergency psychiatric and psychological evaluation by the Family Court Clinic.

## Legal Principles

- In an abuse proceeding, the focus is on the actual or potential impact on the child, not whether the conduct involved physical force.
- “Physical injury” may be shown by impairment of physical condition or substantial pain; substantial pain is a fact question for the court.
- Sustained verbal harassment and humiliation can constitute abuse when it causes, or creates a substantial risk of, protracted impairment of a child’s emotional health.
- Parental authority to discipline is limited by the child’s rights and by statutory protections against abusive treatment.
- A parent who knows of ongoing abuse and fails to protect the child may be found responsible under the Family Court Act.

## Conclusion

The Family Court determined that prolonged, degrading verbal attacks and fear-based coercion by a parent can meet the statutory standard for child abuse, even without physical force, and it imposed protective and evaluative measures after finding both parents legally responsible—one as the abuser and the other for failing to protect.


In re Shane T., 453 N.Y.S.2d 590 (Fam. Ct. N.Y. Cnty. 1982)