Woman sentenced 31/2 years for toddler’s death
Child left alone in closet choked on car-seat strap
Leaving a toddler in a darkened closet and restrained in a car seat for hours was not only negligent, it was cruel, a judge said Tuesday in sentencing a day-home operator in the child’s death.
Provincial court Judge Jim Ogle said Elmarie Simons’ conduct in leaving 18-month-old Ceira McGrath alone for more than five hours, where she eventually choked on a car-seat strap, warranted a 3½-year prison term.
“The circumstances here of placing this child improperly buckled in an inadequate device not designed for sleeping … was highly inappropriate,” Ogle said.
“To then place this child in a darkened and isolated closet in an upstairs bedroom of this home, and leave her there unattended for over five hours, was not only criminally negligent, it was cruel and highly indifferent.”
Simons, 59, pleaded guilty two weeks ago to criminal negligence causing death in connection with the Nov. 12, 2015, death of Ceira in her southwest Calgary day home.
Simons had placed the child in the car seat and then in a bedroom closet before going shopping.
When she returned, she failed to check on Ceira for hours and when she finally did, found she had choked to death.
Ogle said the fact Simons admitted doing the same thing with the child in the past put her degree of moral blameworthiness “at a very high level.”
He said despite his inquiries, Simons never gave any explanation for her actions, which would “reduce the moral blameworthiness of these stark facts.”
“The court can only conclude that the actions that ultimately caused the death of Ceira were considered and deliberate and without any excuse whatsoever. They were in every sense of the words, cruel and callous.”
During sentencing submissions last week, Crown and defence lawyers suggested the range of sentences for such a crime, negligence in the death of a child, was two to four years.
But Ogle agreed with prosecutor Pam McCluskey that Simons’ actions placed her much closer to the upper end of that range.
The judge said if not for her lack of a prior criminal record, the loss of her day-home business and Simons’ guilty plea and expression of remorse, a four-year term would have been appropriate.
During her sentencing hearing last week, Simons addressed the courtroom.
“I am not the monster you think I am,” she said.
“She was a special little girl and I took that away from you. I am so sorry.”
Despite Ogle’s comments, dad Ryan McGrath wasn’t convinced of Simons’ remorse.
“Her apology, we feel, was selfserving,” he said outside court, after Simons was taken into custody.
“It seemed to have bought her six months off. It was late, we don’t believe she’s remorseful,” he said. “I disregard the apology.”
McGrath said Simons’ decision to plead guilty on the first day her trial was to begin didn’t spare the family much grief.
“We relived it all over again anyway,” he said.
Defence lawyer Alain Hepner said the sentence was in the appropriate range and won’t be appealed.
He said prison will be tough on Simons.
“She’s 59 years old going to a federal penitentiary, never been in trouble before,” Hepner said.
But he agreed her actions warranted such a punishment.
“On balance, this was a horrific offence.”