State v. Amador-Hernandez

418 July 16, 2026 No. 32 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON STATE OF OREGON, Respondent on Review, v. RAMON AMADOR-HERNANDEZ, Petitioner on Review. (CC 19CR56998; 19CR57003) (CA A177568 (Control); A177569) (SC S071880) En Banc On review from the Court of Appeals.* Argued and submitted January 13, 2026. Shawn Evans Wiley, Deputy Public Defender, Oregon Public Defense Commission, Salem, argued the cause and filed the briefs for petitioner on review. Also on the briefs was Ernest G. Lannet, Chief Defender, Criminal Appellate Section. Jeff J. Payne, Assistant Attorney General, Salem, argued the cause and filed the brief for respondent on review. Also on the brief was Dan Rayfield, Attorney General, and Paul L. Smith, Interim Solicitor General. BUSHONG, J. The decision of the Court of Appeals and the judgment of the circuit court are affirmed. ______________ * Appeal from Multnomah County Circuit Court, Kelly Skye, Judge. 338 Or App 479 (2025) (nonprecedential opinion). Cite as 375 Or 418 (2026) 419 420 State v. Amador-Hernandez BUSHONG, J. In this criminal case, we are asked to decide what it means for a parent to “withhold” food and dental care that is “necessary and adequate” for the parent’s children under one of Oregon’s criminal mistreatment statutes, ORS 163.205(1) (a), and whether there is sufficient evidence in this case to support defendant’s convictions on two counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment. On appeal, defendant contended that there was insufficient evidence that he had knowingly withheld necessary and adequate food or dental care within the meaning of ORS 163.205(1), and that applying the crim- inal mistreatment law to these facts did “nothing more than criminalize poverty.” State v. Amador-Hernandez, 338 Or App 479, 482 (2025) (nonprecedential opinion). The Court of Appeals disagreed and affirmed the convictions. We allowed defendant’s petition for review and now affirm. As we will explain, we have interpreted “withholds” in the criminal mistreatment statute to mean “keeps back,” and the parties agree that a person must be able to access and provide food and care to withhold it from a dependent child. Poverty can certainly affect whether a person has that ability, but we agree with the Court of Appeals that the record here supports the conclusion that defendant was able to access and provide food for his children. Because food is essential to a child’s growth and development, we inter- pret “necessary and adequate” food in this context to mean food that, at a minimum, is necessary and adequate to pre- vent severe and chronic malnutrition. Finally, we conclude that there was sufficient evidence in this record to support the trial court’s conclusions that defendant acted knowingly when he withheld necessary and adequate food from both children and dental care from the youngest child. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals and the judgment of the circuit court. I. BACKGROUND A. Facts In a criminal appeal challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, we review the evidence Cite as 375 Or 418 (2026) 421 in the light most favorable to the state to determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Cunningham, 320 Or 47, 63, 880 P2d 431 (1994), cert den, 514 US 1005 (1995). We summarize the facts from the record consistent with that standard. Defendant and his wife were jointly charged with two counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment, ORS 163.205. Counts 2 and 3 of the indictment alleged that defendant and his wife had intentionally and knowingly withheld necessary and adequate food, physical care, and medical attention from their daughters, G and T.1 The situation came to light after the Department of Human Services (DHS) obtained a warrant for protective custody of G and T, who were 8 and 9 years old at the time. The DHS caseworker, Constanza, testified that, when he first saw the girls, they were in a back bedroom that smelled like urine. Their clothes and skin were dirty, their hair was matted, and they “were really scared.” Constanza called it “the worst chronic neglect case” he had seen in 14 years at DHS. He referred the children to CARES Northwest because of his concerns about their well-being. A physician at CARES Northwest, Dr. Bishop- Perdue, examined both girls. Bishop-Perdue’s reports stated that the medical evaluations for both girls were “significant for signs of malnutrition including small size, short statute, no subcutaneous fat stores and bitemporal wasting.” Bishop- Perdue testified at trial that “bitemporal wasting” meant that “the muscles along the side of their face were much smaller than they should be.” She further testified that both girls had “significant dental decay,” and that G had multiple visible cavities, abscesses, and missing teeth, which made it painful for her to eat and made her vulnerable to “whole body infections.” According to Bishop-Perdue’s reports, both girls needed treatment for their “rotten teeth,” and T had 1 Count 1 of the indictment -- which alleged that defendant’s wife com- mitted first-degree criminal mistreatment against her daughter, JC -- did not charge defendant with a crime as to JC. Defendant was separately charged with and convicted of five counts of first-degree sexual abuse, ORS 163.427, against another stepdaughter, AC. Those convictions are not at issue here. 422 State v. Amador-Hernandez reported that she and her siblings “were hungry and there was [either] no food or bad, rotten food in the house to eat.” Bishop-Perdue concluded that G and T had been neglected for years, and that the neglect had already caused the children physical harm and risked causing long-term impairment of their physical and mental development. When asked whether a person without medical training would have noticed G’s stunted growth and dental issues, Bishop-Perdue testified that a “nonmedically trained person would have noticed that [G] was very small and would have likely presumed that she was significantly younger based on how she presented and would have noticed her teeth.” She also testified that the children had coverage through the Oregon Health Plan. According to Bishop-Perdue’s reports, both girls suffered from “chronic” malnutrition, which, as she testified at trial, would have developed over the course of several years. A counselor from the girls’ elementary school, Nash- Sedda, testified that she had become increasingly concerned about the girls over time. She became very concerned when G started losing her hair and her dental problems made it painful for her to eat. Nash-Sedda testified that 97 percent of the students at the school were below federal poverty guidelines and, as a result, all students could receive free breakfast and lunch at school. But G and T did not fully ben- efit from the availability of those free meals because their school attendance was poor. For example, during the 2018- 19 school year, they attended school 49 percent of the school year. The girls also told Nash-Sedda that “they weren’t being fed at home.” Nash-Sedda testified that she had spo- ken to defendant at one point about her concerns and he had expressed a desire “to do better,” but nothing appeared to change.2 2 Nash-Sedda also testified that the girls often came to school with “matted” hair and they “reeked” of urine. Teachers reported having a hard time having the girls in the classroom because of the urine smell, stating that the smell was “so profound” that other students had trouble being around them. Nash-Sedda explained that the girls’ physical condition affected their ability to make friends because other students made comments about the urine smell or their matted hair. Although this evidence of neglect did not directly implicate whether defen- dant withheld food or dental care, as we will explain later, defendant’s apparent willingness to ignore these obvious bodily care needs contributes to an inference Cite as 375 Or 418 (2026) 423 The state introduced additional evidence about the girls’ home life. Defendant’s stepdaughter, JC, was 16 years old when she testified at trial. JC testified that she was the person who would wake G and T up in the morning and try to get them to school. JC testified that there “wasn’t much food in the house” and that the girls were hungry “pretty often.” JC also testified that the girls “didn’t really go to the dentist” and that both girls had “a lot” of toothaches. JC testified that defendant and her mother were intoxicated or drinking alcohol “pretty often,” and that, when they were drinking, they “wouldn’t really pay attention” to the girls. JC indicated that defendant was employed part of the time, doing construction work, and that he paid the rent “most of the time.” Another stepdaughter, AC, testified at trial; she was 20 years old at the time. AC testified that the family received food stamps and often relied on food banks for food. According to AC, “[s]ometimes” G and T would have enough to eat, but they were “behind in their nutrients.” AC testi- fied that defendant’s money “did not always go to food” or to “what [they] needed” because it was “mostly [spent on] alcohol.” She further testified that defendant and her mom would go out to the bar “almost every weekend” and that they would spend the money that defendant had earned on alcohol and gambling.3 Finally, AC testified that G and T had never been taught to brush their teeth. B. Procedural History Defendant waived his right to a jury and the case was tried to the court. After the state rested its case, defen- dant moved for a judgment of acquittal on both criminal mistreatment counts, contending that there was insufficient evidence that defendant had knowingly withheld necessary and adequate food and dental care from G and T in violation of ORS 163.205(1). The trial court denied the motion, con- cluding that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable that he acted “knowingly” in failing to provide necessary and adequate food and dental care to maintain the girls’ bodily health. 3 Of course, going to bars and spending money on alcohol and gambling is not criminal conduct, but it is relevant here because it supports the conclusion that defendant had resources available to him that he could have used to feed his children, and that he knowingly chose to use those resources for other purposes. 424 State v. Amador-Hernandez to the state, was sufficient to permit a reasonable finder of fact to find that the state had proved all the elements of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Defendant did not pres- ent any evidence. After closing arguments, the trial court found defendant guilty on both counts of first-degree crimi- nal mistreatment.4 Defendant appealed, contending that the case required the court to construe what it means to “with- hold[ ] necessary and adequate” food and dental care as that phrase is used in the statute, and that withholding neces- sary and adequate food and care requires more than neglect. Defendant acknowledged that the evidence would support a finding of neglect but argued that it was insufficient to prove that he had withheld necessary and adequate food and care in violation of ORS 163.205(1). Defendant also argued that the evidence of tooth decay was insufficient under Court of Appeals precedent to establish criminal mistreatment, cit- ing State v. Drown, 245 Or App 447, 263 P3d 1057 (2011), rev den, 351 Or 401 (2011). The Court of Appeals noted that defendant had assigned error to the denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal and understood defendant’s appeal to be challeng- ing only the sufficiency of the evidence. Amador-Hernandez, 338 Or App at 480. The Court of Appeals affirmed the con- victions based on its evaluation of the sufficiency of the evidence, applying the standards that it had adopted in Drown, without engaging in a further statutory interpre- tation analysis. Id. at 480 (stating that, under Drown, “the standard of withholding necessary and adequate physical care can be satisfied by withholding care for a condition that causes or will cause serious physical pain or injury”) (inter- nal quotation marks omitted); id. at 482 (concluding that “the record contained sufficient evidence” to support the 4 The trial court found persuasive the state’s theory that defendant had knowingly withheld necessary and adequate food and dental care from G and T, and, applying Court of Appeals precedent, concluded that defendant’s conduct constituted criminal mistreatment because it caused or was likely to cause seri- ous physical injury. The court did not find persuasive the state’s theory that defendant had knowingly withheld necessary and adequate medical attention for G’s medical condition, concluding that there was insufficient evidence that G’s condition caused or was likely to cause serious pain or physical injury as required by Court of Appeals’ precedent. Cite as 375 Or 418 (2026) 425 trial court’s determination that defendant had “knowingly withheld necessary and adequate food and dental care” from G and T and that defendant’s actions had “caused or were likely to cause serious physical injury”). With respect to dental care, the court noted the evi- dence that both girls had significant dental decay, and that G had a “really bad tooth problem” that affected her ability to eat. Id. at 481-82. The court concluded that this case “has significant distinctions” from Drown, where there was “no evidence as to which children had toothaches, the severity of the aches, or any evidence that ‘the children were experienc- ing symptoms that interfered with their daily activities or were likely to result in serious harm in the long term.’ ” Id. at 482 n 2 (quoting Drown, 245 Or App at 464-65). The court also stated that it took “seriously” defendant’s argument that his convictions did “nothing more than criminalize poverty” but concluded that, because the record “includes evidence of the availability of food and dental care for the children, this is not a case of a parent who was simply unable to afford basic necessities.” Id. Defendant petitioned for review, contending that the first-degree criminal mistreatment statute, ORS 163.205(1) (a), required the state to prove that defendant affirmatively withheld food and care that he was able to provide and that, under Drown, the food and care that defendant withheld must have been “absolutely required” to meet the children’s basic safety and survival needs. See Drown, 245 Or App at 464 (stating that “a person withholds necessary and ade- quate physical care when the person withholds care that is absolutely required to meet a dependent’s basic safety and survival needs”).5 Defendant further contended that the evidence here was insufficient to meet that standard. We allowed review to address the statutory interpretation issue and whether the record contained sufficient evidence to sup- port the convictions under our interpretation of the criminal mistreatment statute. 5 Defendant does not contend on review that the Court of Appeals erred in applying Drown without engaging in any additional statutory interpretation analysis. Instead, defendant again raises the statutory interpretation issue in this court, elaborating on some of the arguments he had previously asserted in his brief in the Court of Appeals. 426 State v. Amador-Hernandez II. ANALYSIS We review the interpretation of a statute for legal error, applying our familiar methodology that focuses on the statutory text, context, and any legislative history that we find to be helpful. State v. Gaines, 346 Or 160, 206 P3d 1042 (2009). After interpreting the statute, we review the evi- dence in the record, in the light most favorable to the state, to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to allow a reasonable trier of fact to find that the state has proven the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Walters, 311 Or 80, 82-83, 804 P2d 1164 (1991). We begin with the statutory interpretation issue. A. The Statutory Interpretation Issue ORS 163.205(1)(a) provides, in pertinent part: “A person commits the crime of criminal mistreatment in the first degree if: “(a) The person, in violation of a legal duty to provide care for another person, or having assumed the permanent or temporary care, custody or responsibility for the super- vision of another person, intentionally or knowingly with- holds necessary and adequate food, physical care or medical attention from that other person.” (Emphasis added.) The same phrase—”withholds necessary and adequate food, physical care or medical attention”— is also used in the second-degree criminal mistreatment statute, ORS 163.200(1)(a) and (b). ORS 163.200 and ORS 163.205 were enacted in 1973 as part of the same bill, Or Laws 1973, ch 627, §§ 2 and 3, and we refer to those statutes in this opinion as the criminal mistreatment statutes. The main difference between first-degree and second-degree criminal mistreatment is the required mental state. Under ORS 163.200, a person commits second-degree criminal mistreatment if the person “withholds necessary and adequate food, physical care or medical attention” with criminal negligence. First-degree criminal mistreatment under ORS 163.205(1)(a) involves the same conduct done intentionally or knowingly.6 6 In Baker-Krofft, we noted another difference between first-degree and second-degree criminal mistreatment: the second-degree statute applies only Cite as 375 Or 418 (2026) 427 We have determined that, to establish first-degree criminal mistreatment in violation of ORS 163.205, the state must prove three elements: (1) the defendant acted with the requisite mental state; (2) the defendant had a duty to pro- vide care for a person; and (3) the defendant “withheld” nec- essary and adequate food, physical care or medical attention from that person. State v. Baker-Krofft, 348 Or 655, 660, 239 P3d 226 (2010). In Baker-Krofft, the defendants in two con- solidated cases each had children under their care “who were well fed and healthy but who lived in homes with potential safety hazards.” Id. at 658.7 We concluded that those safety hazards “were not sufficient to give rise to criminal liabil- ity” for criminal mistreatment. Id. at 668. In reaching that conclusion, we outlined the ele- ments of first-degree criminal mistreatment under ORS 163.205, as noted above. Defendant in this case does not dis- pute that he had a legal duty to provide care for G and T, nor does he dispute that “physical care or medical attention” can include dental care. Rather, defendant contends that he did not knowingly “withhold[ ]” food or dental care that was “necessary and adequate” as those terms are used in ORS 163.205. We begin with the meaning of the word “withhold.” We interpreted “withhold” for purposes of ORS 163.205 in Baker-Krofft to mean “keep back” food, physical care, or medical attention from a dependent person. 348 Or at 662.8 We explained that the criminal mistreatment statutes “rest on the premise that the actor keeps back something (food, physical care, or medical attention) from a person who would to persons who have a duty to provide care for another, while the first-degree statute also applies to persons who assumed the permanent or temporary care, custody, or responsibility for the supervision of another person. 348 Or at 660 n 3. That difference does not affect the issues on review in this case. 7 Our opinion in Baker-Krofft addressed safety hazards in two separate cases. In one case, the “the house posed specific fire hazards,” and in the other case, “the home was filled with debris, which included some small items on the floor that posed a potential choking hazard to the young children who lived in the home.” 348 Or at 658. 8 In Baker-Krofft, we noted that “withholds” is a term of common usage, so we interpreted it in accordance with its ordinary meaning. 348 Or at 662. The dic- tionary defines “withhold” to mean “ ‘to desist or refrain from granting, giving, or allowing : keep in one’s possession or control : keep back.’ ” Id. (quoting Webster’s Third New Int’l Dictionary 2627 (unabridged ed 2002)). 428 State v. Amador-Hernandez not otherwise be able to obtain it for him or herself.” Id. In this case, the parties agree that we should apply the “keep back” definition of “withhold” that we adopted in Baker- Krofft, and they further agree that a person can “keep back” food or care only if the person had the ability to access and provide food and care.9 Thus, the parties agree that “with- holds” in ORS 163.205(1), as relevant here and consistent with our interpretation of that word in Baker-Krofft, means to “keep back” food or dental care that defendant had the ability to access and provide to his daughters. We agree with that interpretation. In addition, however, defendant contends that “with- holds” in ORS 163.205(1) means more than having the abil- ity to access and provide food and care and failing to provide it to a dependent person. Defendant uses varying terms in articulating that argument. In his opening brief, defendant argued that the statute required the state to prove that he “purposely held back food from his children, as a form of punishment or otherwise” or “in a manner amounting to a cruel deprivation.” In his reply brief, defendant argues that the statute “prohibits not the mere failure to provide, but the intentional or conscious refusal to provide necessary food and care” to his children, or that defendant “had the financial resources and access to purchase food or obtain medical care, but did not do so in order to deny such food or care to G and T.” The “gravamen” of the statute, according to defendant, “is an intentional or knowing ‘cruel deprivation’ 9 The parties follow different paths to get to that agreement. The state con- tends that a person must be capable of providing food and care to withhold it, because the minimum requirement for criminal liability is “the performance by a person of conduct which includes a voluntary act or the omission to perform an act which the person is capable of performing.” ORS 161.095(1) (emphasis added). Defendant contends that a defendant must be capable of providing food and care to withhold it, because the criminal nonsupport statute, ORS 163.555, includes a defense that requires such an assessment. See ORS 163.555(3) (providing an affirmative defense for failing to provide child support if the defendant “has a law- ful excuse for failing to provide child support”); State v. Langford, 90 Or 251, 260, 176 P 197 (1918) (interpreting a similar provision in a predecessor to ORS 163.555 to mean that “the obligation of the father must be measured with reference to his ability, honestly exercised, and with regard to his financial resources”). We need not rely on either ORS 161.085(1) or the “lawful excuse” provi- sion in ORS 163.555 based on our conclusion that a person can “withhold” food or care in violation of ORS 163.205 only if the person “keeps back” food or care that the person is able to access and provide to a dependent person. Cite as 375 Or 418 (2026) 429 of necessary food or care at the level of a nursing home employee intentionally holding back a resident’s medication or food as punishment.” Regardless of how it is worded, we understand defen- dant’s argument to be that a person can “withhold” food and care from a dependent person only if the person could access and provide food and care to a dependent person and chose not to do so for the specific purpose of depriving the depen- dent person of the food or care that the person needs. That argument is refuted by the text of ORS 163.205(1), which applies when a person withholds food or care intentionally or knowingly. Intentionally withholding food and care would include choosing to keep back food and care for the specific purpose of depriving a dependent person of necessary food or care, such as for a punishment or to be cruel.10 But a person can violate ORS 163.205(1) by knowingly withholding neces- sary and adequate food or care without having that purpose. A person acts “knowingly” under the criminal code when “a person acts with an awareness” that the person’s conduct is “of a nature” described in the statute, “or that the circum- stance” described in the statute exists. ORS 161.085(8). In this context, defendant could withhold food knowingly if he acted “with an awareness” that his children needed food, he was aware that he was able to access and had a duty to provide it, and he was aware that he was not providing that food. And, as we will explain, under the standard adopted in Drown—with which we agree—defendant would also need to be aware that his failure caused or would cause severe malnutrition or serious pain, injury, or illness. Thus, defen- dant could knowingly withhold food from his children even if he did not choose to withhold food for the specific purpose of depriving them of it as a form of punishment, to be cruel, or to cause them pain, injury, or illness. The parties’ remaining dispute involves the mean- ing of “necessary and adequate” as applied, in this case, to food and dental care. In Baker-Krofft, we held that “a 10 “Intentionally” is defined in the criminal code to mean that “a person acts with a conscious objective to cause the result or engage in the conduct” described in the criminal statute. ORS 161.085(7). 430 State v. Amador-Hernandez person withholds necessary and adequate physical care from a dependent person when the person keeps back from the dependent person those physical services and attention that are necessary to provide for the dependent person’s bodily needs.” 348 Or at 666-67 (emphasis added). In reaching that conclusion, we noted that the legislature had grouped phys- ical care “together with food and medical attention,” which are both “essential to maintain bodily health.” Id. at 663. That suggested that “the legislature understood that physi- cal care was similarly limited to those physical services and attention that are necessary to provide for a dependent per- son’s bodily needs.” Id. (emphasis added). That observation suggests that withholding “neces- sary and adequate” food or medical attention in violation of the criminal mistreatment statutes means keeping back food or medical attention that, like physical care, was neces- sary to provide for a dependent person’s bodily needs. As we noted in Baker-Krofft, food is essential to maintain a depen- dent person’s bodily health. Id. Applying that same approach to withholding necessary and adequate food or dental care supports the conclusion that a person can withhold neces- sary and adequate food or dental care from a dependent person when the person keeps back from the dependent per- son food or dental care that is necessary to provide for the dependent person’s bodily needs. We further noted in Baker-Krofft that the services “necessary to maintain a person’s bodily health will vary depending on the person’s needs.” Id. at 667 n 5. As exam- ples, we noted that services necessary to maintain a depen- dent person’s bodily health may include “periodically turn- ing a bedridden person who is unable to move on her own so that she does not develop bed sores or maintaining a child or elderly person’s personal hygiene so that the person does not develop infections or some other illness.” Id. This case involves the needs of defendant’s children for food and dental care, and those needs are different. A child needs food to survive, grow, and develop physically and mentally, and to maintain their bodily health. At a minimum, there is no question that a parent must provide sufficient food to avoid starving their children to death or Cite as 375 Or 418 (2026) 431 nearly to death. The fact that the legislature criminalized a parent’s withholding of food that is both “necessary and adequate” for a dependent child suggests that, in addition to requiring parents to provide sufficient food to avoid starv- ing or nearly starving children to death, the legislature also understood—as we observed in Baker-Krofft—that food is “essential to maintain bodily health,” and it is particularly essential for the growth and development of children. Thus, regardless of where the line is drawn between providing necessary and adequate food for a dependent child and not providing that food, the standard for establishing criminal mistreatment can be satisfied by showing that a parent withheld food to such an extent that it caused severe and chronic malnutrition.11 A child’s needs for dental care may vary depending on the child. All children lose their baby teeth, and many children develop tooth decay in varying degrees of sever- ity. Although we have not previously decided when a par- ent’s failure to address their child’s dental needs amounts to first-degree criminal mistreatment in violation of ORS 163.205, the Court of Appeals addressed that issue in some detail in Drown, 245 Or App 447. And the court’s reasoning is persuasive. There, the Court of Appeals reversed first-degree criminal mistreatment convictions that were based on a parent’s failure to attend to the dental needs of four of her 11 That conclusion follows from the ordinary meaning of the words “neces- sary and adequate.” “Necessary” generally means “that [which] cannot be done without : that must be done or had : absolutely required : essential, indispensi- ble.” Webster’s at 1510-11. However, this court has stated that “necessary” “is a word susceptible of various meanings.” State v. Young, 74 Or 399, 406, 145 P 647 (1915). It “may import absolute physical necessity, or that which is only con- venient or useful or essential.” Id. Courts construing “necessary” have “almost universally” held it to mean “needful or convenient,” especially “where the word is used in conjunction with other and stronger terms.” Id.; see also State ex rel Dept. of Rev. v. Capital Shelters, 295 Or 561, 563, 668 P2d 1214 (1983) (holding that “necessary” in statute giving Department of Revenue power to subpoena records “whenever necessary” means “relevant to the purposes of a lawful inves- tigation and the object of a demonstrable, practical need”). “Adequate” means “equal to, proportionate to, or fully sufficient for a specified or implied require- ment.” Webster’s at 25. Food is “necessary” because it is essential to avoid starv- ing to death, and “adequate” food would be food that is sufficient in both quality and quantity to avoid severe and chronic malnutrition or other serious illnesses. 432 State v. Amador-Hernandez dependent children.12 The court concluded from the text, context, and legislative history of the criminal mistreat- ment statutes that the standard for withholding necessary and adequate physical care “can be satisfied by withholding care for a condition that causes or will cause serious physi- cal pain or injury.” Id. at 464. The court stated that failing to treat pain and physical injuries “can constitute criminal mistreatment, but whether it does depends on the nature of the pain or injury, including the intensity, duration, and consequences of the pain or injury[.]” Id. at 464. Applying that standard to dental care, the court noted that the evidence in Drown established that four of the defendant’s dependent children required dental work after they were taken into DHS custody. Specifically, there was evidence that two of the children needed fillings, and two needed root canals. Id. at 464. Although there was some evidence that some of the children had toothaches at times, there was no evidence “regarding the severity—either in degree or duration—of the toothaches.” Id. at 465. Thus, the court concluded, “there was no evidence from which a rational trier of fact could find that any of the children suf- fered serious physical pain or injury from the toothaches.” Id. The court noted, for example, that there was no evidence “that the children were experiencing symptoms that inter- fered with their daily activities or were likely to result in serious harm in the long term.” Id. We agree with the Court of Appeals’ approach to determining whether a parent’s failure to attend to a depen- dent child’s dental needs amounts to criminal mistreatment. The text of the statute, as we interpreted it in Baker-Krofft and consistent with the Court of Appeals’ interpretation in Drown, suggests that a parent withholds dental care that is “necessary and adequate” for a dependent child in violation of the criminal mistreatment statutes when the parent does not take any action to address severe dental problems that cause or will cause the child serious pain or other significant 12 The defendant in Drown was charged with assault and criminal mistreat- ment of her nine youngest dependent children. On the criminal mistreatment charges, the state presented evidence that the family’s home was “cramped and cluttered” and that defendant “had failed to take the children for routine medical and dental examinations or have them immunized.” 245 Or App at 451. Cite as 375 Or 418 (2026) 433 and lasting symptoms that interfere with the child’s daily activities or are likely to result in serious harm in the long term.13 Defendant makes two additional arguments based on the context of the criminal mistreatment statutes. Defendant first points out that the context includes civil statutes that existed when the legislature enacted the crim- inal mistreatment statutes in 1973 that allowed the agency (then known as the Children Services Division) and juve- nile courts to intervene and provide for children whose basic needs were not being met by their parents. See Baker-Krofft, 348 Or at 663 (noting as a contextual clue that, when the legislature enacted the criminal mistreatment statutes in 1973, “it did so against a backdrop of civil statutes that authorized juvenile courts to take jurisdiction over children ‘whose conditions or circumstances are such as to endanger their own welfare’ and make them wards of the court” (quot- ing ORS 419.476 (1)(c) (1971) (internal alterations omitted))). According to defendant, that context demonstrates that the legislature intended “withholds” as it is used in ORS 163.205 to mean more than neglect or a failure to provide food and care sufficient to justify intervention by DHS and the juvenile court. We agree that neglect sufficient to justify inter- vention by DHS and the juvenile court may not necessar- ily amount to criminal mistreatment, but we do not agree that that requires us to interpret “withholding necessary and adequate food, physical care or medical attention” in the criminal mistreatment statutes any differently than we have. As we explained in Baker-Krofft, those civil statutes supported our conclusion that the legislature did not intend to “sweep within” the criminal mistreatment statutes “all the safety risks within a home that can give rise to juvenile court jurisdiction.” 348 Or at 664. Rather, the legislature 13 In Drown, the Court of Appeals also rejected the defendant’s argument that the evidence did not support a finding that she knowingly withheld neces- sary and adequate care from another child, D, who had severe vision problems. The court noted “the degree of D’s vision problems -- he was legally blind and could not see to read -- and the fact that those problems were apparent to oth- ers[.]” 245 Or App at 461. Under those circumstances, the court concluded that “a rational trier of fact could find that [the] defendant knew D needed vision cor- rection in order to go about his daily tasks safely.” Id. at 461-62. 434 State v. Amador-Hernandez “left the sort of [safety] risks at issue in [Baker-Krofft] to the civil law, with its salutary focus on protecting the child while working to reunite the family.” Id. But we distin- guished safety risks from a parent’s withholding of food. We noted that the “civil and criminal statutes may overlap in some circumstances.” Id. As an example, we stated that, “if a parent intentionally withheld necessary and adequate food from his child, that conduct could give rise both to juve- nile court jurisdiction and also to criminal liability.” Id. Defendant’s other contextual argument is based on criminal statutes that existed when the legislature enacted the criminal mistreatment statutes in 1973. As defendant points out, the criminal code that Oregon adopted in 1971 already included three provisions that addressed the sub- ject of a parent’s failure to care for a dependent child. See Or Laws 1971, ch 743, § 173 (child abandonment, now codified at ORS 163.535); § 174 (child neglect, now codified at ORS 163.54514); § 175 (criminal nonsupport, now codified at ORS 163.555). Two of those statutes cover conduct that could also come within the criminal mistreatment statutes in some circumstances.15 As enacted, the child-neglect statute, ORS 163.545(1) (1971), provided: “A person having custody or control of a child under 10 years of age commits the crime of child neglect if, with criminal negligence, he leaves the child unattended in or at any place for such period of time as may be likely to endan- ger the health or welfare of such child.” Thus, child neglect under that statute included crimi- nally negligent conduct, as well as intentional, knowing, or 14 The child neglect statute that was adopted in 1971 was amended in 1991, to specify that the conduct prohibited by the statute constituted second-degree child neglect. That change was necessary because the legislature created a new crime of first-degree child neglect, ORS 163.547, to prohibit persons from allowing children to be around certain illegal activities involving controlled sub- stances. Or Laws 1991, ch 832, § 2. 15 The child abandonment statute applies if a parent, lawful guardian, or other person lawfully charged with the care or custody of a child under 15 years of age, “deserts the child in any place with intent to abandon it.” ORS 163.535(1). Defendant does not explain how criminal mistreatment in violation of ORS 163.200 or ORS 163.205 could also constitute “abandonment” in violation of ORS 163.535. Cite as 375 Or 418 (2026) 435 reckless conduct. See ORS 161.115(3) (stating that, if a stat- ute describes the culpable mental state as criminal