GRAND BANK, N.L. — *Editorial note: To protect the identity of the children involved in this matter the name of the accused has not been published.
A mother of two from Marystown has been found guilty of child abandonment.
Judge Harold Porter announced his verdict in provincial court in Grand Bank on Monday, March 4.
The charges in the matter stem from an incident that occurred on June 7, 2018, when the accused left her home, leaving her children unattended for several hours.
According to evidence presented at the trial, neighbours grew concerned when the oldest child, just four years old, showed up at their house asking for a bandage for his two-year-old sibling who had fallen and suffered a cut. The police were notified. When police checked the home, they determined no adult was there.
Judge Porter noted, in his decision, the mother testified that she had left around 6 o’clock.
“Given her return time of 8:10 p.m., by her own evidence, she was away from the children for two hours and 10 minutes … The accused left her two children unattended at home while she went for cigarettes. She was gone away from them for more than two hours. The children were two and a half and four and a half years old. There was a bathtub full of water and floating toys in the house. The children were seen outdoors by themselves. They went onto the paved road, and over near a guardrail overlooking the sea,” he explained.
“The accused left her children in actual danger: she abandoned her children.”
The mother will return to court May 8 for sentencing submissions.