By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Sentencing delayed again for woman who left child in freezing car

Feb 26, 2018 | 10:26 AM

LETHBRIDGE – Sentencing has been delayed a second time for a 25-year-old woman, who left her child in a freezing car while she went to a bar.

The woman – who cannot be named to protect the identity of her child – appeared in court Monday, Feb. 26, for a sentencing hearing. It had to be adjourned however, as the judge explained that he had just returned to the country and had not gotten a chance to review the woman’s pre-sentence report, which was just recently completed. He then ordered an adjournment to Mar. 7, giving him over a week to go over the report.

The report examines the personal circumstances of the woman and her potential for rehabilitation. It also contains a Gladue component, which will take into account her Aboriginal heritage.

Sentencing was first delayed in January, when it was noted that a clerical error prevented the report from being started and completed on-time.

The woman pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to provide the necessaries of life back in October, at which time an agreed statement of facts was presented to the court.

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Through the document, it was revealed that around 11:25 p.m. on Dec. 15, 2016, a civilian called the Lethbridge Police Service to report hearing a baby crying in a vehicle that was locked and not running along the 200 block of 5 Street South. Upon arrival, officers smashed one of the windows of an SUV and removed a three-year-old girl who was crying and cold to the touch.

After sending the girl to the Chinook Regional Hospital, police searched the vehicle, and found a four-year-old boy curled-up in a ball under a pile of jackets and shivering silently. Both were wearing winter coats.

Police noted that it was snowing that night and the temperature was -18 C.

A search of the area led police to find the woman in a nearby bar, where she was very intoxicated. She told officers that she was there with another individual and that she had forgotten about her child.

The investigation – which included help from the bar – revealed that the woman had been there for about an hour.

A 31-year-old woman also facing a charge of failing to provide the necessaries of life in connection with the incident, currently has a one-day trial scheduled for March.

by Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Sentencing delayed again for woman who left child in freezing car

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