In overturning the defendant's conviction for child abandonment of his stepson, the court of appeals misconstrued the statutory meaning of "care, custody, or control" in Penal Code §22.04 (Injury to a Child, Elderly Individual or Disabled Individual) to apply to §22.041(b) (Abandoning or Endangering a Child). The purpose of both §22.04 and §22.041 is to protect vulnerable individuals and the unambiguous language defining "care, custody, and control" in one is applicable to the other. However, the defendant's status as the child's step-parent alone did not obligate him to care for the child. The State must show that the defendant accepted responsibility to protect, shelter, feed, and care for the stepson.

Rey v. State PD-1687-07.