Mom who left child in SUV gets conditional discharge

A southern Alberta mother who admitted she left her child in a freezing SUV while she went drinking has been given a conditional discharge by a judge.

The 25-year-old pleaded guilty last October in Lethbridge court of failing to provide the necessaries of life.

She cannot be named to protect the identity of the child.

Her sentence includes one year of probation during which she must abstain from alcohol and drugs and attend counselling.

If she follows the conditions she will be granted a discharge and have no criminal record.

The woman’s lawyer, Darcy Shurtz, says she has shown significant remorse and has taken steps to rehabilitate herself.

“I think it really showed how much she cared for her daughter and really realized the mistake she had made, and that it was just a mistake and one that she was never going to make again,” Shurtz said Wednesday outside court.

The woman once again has full custody of her daughter, who is now four years old.

Shurtz said the woman is a member of the Blood Tribe and was abandoned by her mother at the age of one and went to live with her grandparents, where she was exposed to alcoholism and domestic violence.

She later reconnected with her mother, but again was exposed to domestic violence through people her mother was involved in relationships with.

By the age of 16, Shurtz said she had developed her own alcohol abuse issues.

Last October, court heard that a passerby called police after hearing a child crying, and officers had to smash into the vehicle to rescue the girl.

They found the intoxicated woman in a nearby bar and she told them she had forgotten about her child.

According to an agreed statement of facts, officers who found the girl said she was cold to the touch.

A report prepared by a pediatric specialist said the child had mild hypothermia, but didn’t suffer long-term physical harm.

A 32-year-old woman who was also charged has a one-day trial set for later this month.

It was just a mistake and one that she was never going to make again.