RSA 639:1 Bigamy.
639:1. Bigamy.
A person is guilty of a class B felony if, having a spouse and knowing that he is not legally eligible to marry, he marries another.
Source. 1971, 518:1, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.
OFFENSES AGAINST THE FAMILY
RSA tit. LXII, ch. 639
in effectRSA 639:2 Incest.
639:2. Incest.
I. A person is guilty of a class B felony if he or she marries or engages in sexual penetration as defined in RSA 632-A:1, V, or lives together with, under the representation of being married, a person 18 years or older whom he or she knows to be his or her ancestor, descendant, brother, or sister, of the whole or half blood, or an uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece; provided, however, that no person under the age of 18 shall be liable under this section if the other party is at least 3 years older at the time of the act. The relationships referred to herein include blood relationships without regard to legitimacy, stepchildren, and relationships of parent and child by adoption.
II. In cases of alleged incest where the victim is under the age of 18 when the alleged offense occurred, the statute of limitations shall run pursuant to RSA 625:8, III(d).
III. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph I, a person convicted of incest where the victim is under the age of 18 shall be sentenced to a maximum sentence which is not to exceed 20 years and a minimum which is not to exceed 1/2 the maximum. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph, no person under 18 years of age shall be subject to any minimum sentence of imprisonment for a conviction of incest under this section.
Source. 1971, 518:1. 1986, 168:2. 2000, 173:2, 3. 2008, 334:10, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.
RSA 639:3 Endangering Welfare of Child or Incompetent.
639:3. Endangering Welfare of Child or Incompetent.
I. A person is guilty of endangering the welfare of a child or incompetent if he knowingly endangers the welfare of a child under 18 years of age or of an incompetent person by purposely violating a duty of care, protection or support he owes to such child or incompetent, or by inducing such child or incompetent to engage in conduct that endangers his health or safety.
II. In the prosecution of any person under this section, the tattooing or branding by any person of a child under the age of 18 constitutes endangering the welfare of such child.
II-a. In the prosecution of any person under this section, the placement of a child for adoption or the attempt to place a child for adoption in violation of RSA 170-B:33 constitutes endangering the welfare of such child.
III. In the prosecution of any person under this section, the solicitation by any person of a child under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity as defined by RSA 649-A:2, III for the purpose of creating a visual representation as defined in RSA 649-A:2, IV, or to engage in sexual penetration as defined by RSA 632-A:1, V, constitutes endangering the welfare of such child.
III-a. (a) For the purposes of prosecution under this section, an owner or operator of a computer online service, Internet service, or bulletin board service, including a provider of an artificial intelligence (AI) chat program, large language model artificial intelligence bot, chat bot, character AI, or other computer application, the sole purpose of which is to provide responsive open-ended generative communication through the use of artificial intelligence, commits the offense of endangering the welfare of a child if the owner or operator knows at the time that they direct the communication to the child that the communication is made with the intent to facilitate, encourage, offer, solicit, or recommend that the child imminently engage in:
(1) Sexually explicit conduct.
(2) The production or participation in the production of a visual depiction of such conduct.
(3) The illegal use of drugs or alcohol.
(4) Acts of self-harm or suicide.
(5) Any crime of violence against another person.
(b) This paragraph shall not apply to:
(1) A cloud service provider, or a provider of a telecommunications service or an information service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. section 153, with respect to the provision of content created by or supplied on behalf of another person; or
(2) Any product, service, website, or application that provides an AI chat program or character that is integral or incidental to a video game, television, streaming, movie, or other similar interactive experience.
IV. A person who pursuant to the tenets of a recognized religion fails to conform to an otherwise existing duty of care or protection is not guilty of an offense under this section.
V. A person who endangers the welfare of a child or incompetent by violating paragraph III of this section is guilty of a class B felony. All other violations of this section are misdemeanors.
VI. No person acting in accordance with the provisions of RSA 132-A shall be guilty of an offense under this section.
[Paragraph VII effective Sept. 13, 2026.]
VII. Any parent, guardian, or person having custody or control over a child under 18 years of age, or any other person providing care to or supervision of such child, is not guilty of endangering the welfare of a child under this section for raising a child consistent with the child's biological sex. Raising a child consistent with their biological sex shall include, but is not limited to, referring to a child consistent with their biological sex and making related mental health or medical decisions based on the child's biological sex. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to authorize or allow any other acts or omissions that would constitute endangering the welfare of a child under this section.
[Paragraph VII effective Sept. 13, 2026.]
Source. 1971, 518:1. 1983, 448:1. 2002, 195:2. 2003, 40:2, eff. June 4, 2003. 2016, 159:2, eff. July 1, 2016. 2025, 270:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2026. 2026, 326:3, eff. Sept. 13, 2026.
RSA 639:4 Non-Support.
639:4. Non-Support.
I. A person is guilty of non-support if such person knowingly fails to provide support which such person is legally obliged to provide and which such person can provide to a spouse, child or other dependent. The fine, if any, shall be paid or applied in whole or in part to the support of such spouse, child or other dependent as the court may direct.
II. In this section, non-support shall be:
(a) A class B felony if the arrearage of support has remained unpaid for a cumulative period of more than one year;
(b) A class B felony if the amount of the arrearage is more than $10,000;
(c) A class B felony if the obligor has been previously convicted of non-support under this section or if the obligor has been convicted of a similar criminal nonsupport offense in another state and the arrearage of support in this state has remained unpaid for a cumulative period of more than one year; or
(d) A class A misdemeanor in all other cases.
Source. 1971, 518:1. 1977, 588:14. 1999, 327:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2000.
RSA 639:5 Concealing Death of a Newborn.
639:5. Concealing Death of a Newborn.
A person is guilty of a class B felony if he knowingly conceals the corpse of a newborn child.
Source. 1971, 518:1, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.
Source: New Hampshire General Court (gc.nh.gov)URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-LXII-639.htmFetched: 10/20/2026