Editor’s note: Some readers may find details in this story disturbing.
A drug-using woman, found in a Brantford apartment with her six-month-old dead baby and a second child with significant injuries, pleaded guilty in Ontario Court to failing to provide the necessities of life for her children.
The woman, who can’t be named due to a publication ban that protects her children’s identities, has been in jail since her arrest on Feb. 12, 2021, when police responded to a call about the dead infant.
“This is a horrific situation you placed your children in,” said Justice Robert Gee.
“When you become a parent, you give up your right to be selfish. And it seems like, at every turn, you chose your own self-interests over those of your children.”
Gee hinted that more could have been done for the woman’s children by police and child protective services staff. But the “bottom line” is that the children are the responsibility of their parents, he said.
The judge accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defense that gives the woman credit for serving the equivalent of 22 months in jail, which was within the penalty range according to case law.
But Gee balked at the suggested 18-month probation.
“We have an obligation to do whatever we can to make sure this situation doesn’t happen again. You need much more significant intervention from this court.”
Gee imposed a three-year probation – the maximum allowed in criminal court – during which the woman will continue on methadone and get counselling.
Just days before the call about the dead infant, police had been to the woman’s apartment and noted dried blood on the leg of the woman’s three-year-old daughter. They were told the girl had been pushed off a couch by her four-year-old brother. An officer notified Brant Family and Child Services and was told the problem did not require medical care.
When they returned to investigate the baby’s death, officers found a home in disarray, with evidence of drug use. And the girl complained of pain with each step she took.
The girl and her brother were taken to a Hamilton hospital. A doctor found “a large gaping wound” on the girl’s genitals that was infected and filled with pus.
“A pediatrician said possible forceful blunt impact could have caused the injury,” said Crown attorney Andrew Falls, noting the child would have been bleeding and in significant pain.
The doctor also noted that, if it hadn’t been discovered, the injury could have become even more serious.
An examination found the girl had multiple bruises and scratches on her body, both feet contained countless tiny wooden slivers, her hair was matted and dirty and her teeth decayed.
His bother also had a large number of bruises on his back.
Falls said the injuries pointed to “a lack of supervision rather than being deliberately inflicted.”
At the time the youngest child died, the mother was on a police undertaking because she had been charged with being drug-impaired during a motor vehicle accident that injured her daughter. In May last year, she pleaded guilty to impaired driving and possession of fentanyl and was sentenced to four months in jail.
Also at the time of the child’s death, the woman was under orders to not communicate or be around her children unless approved by Brant Family and Child Services. Court was told that agency knew of the woman’s fentanyl addiction and determined the children’s father was an appropriate caregiver. The agency said the woman could be around the children as long as her common-law husband, or another family member, was there to supervise.
The 30-year-old husband was originally charged with criminal negligence causing death, criminal negligence causing bodily harm and failing to provide the necessities of life. But, last November, his charges were upgraded to include manslaughter. His case continues in court.
“These people created a climate where a child died,” said Gee. “We can’t lose sight of that fact. She’s not being sentenced for that but there were three abused children and one of the children is dead.”
The judge expressed his displeasure that “no rational explanation” was given as to why the three-year-old girl didn’t get medical attention.
“The only explanation I can think of is you didn’t want to expose yourself to problems so you let your child suffer.”
During her probation, the woman isn’t allowed contact with her children, who are now in foster care, or to care for anyone under 18.
While in jail, the woman gave birth to another child, who is also in foster care.
@EXPSGamble