Child Abuse: 

"Any willful act by an adult, that endangers or impairs a child's physical or emotional health and development." 

United States Statistics

During Federal fiscal year (FFY)

2005:

There were an estimated 1,460 child fatality victims;

More than three-quarters (76.6%) of child fatality

victims were younger than 4 years.

For Federal fiscal year

2004:

There were an estimated 3 million children were

alleged to have been abused or neglected and received

investigations or assessments by State and local child

protective services (CPS) agencies.

Approximately 872,000 children were determined

 to be victims of child maltreatment.

Statistics from

http://www.jimhopper.com/abstats/#official-us

In Colorado, there were 5,082 incidents of

child abuse and 30 fatalities in 1999