Necessaries of life case gets December trial date

One of two women charged in 2016 with failing to provide the necessaries of life to two toddlers will stand trial later this year.

The woman, who can’t be named under a court-ordered publication ban, will stand trial Dec. 11-12. The date was set Monday during a brief hearing in Lethbridge provincial court, where the charge against the other woman was simply adjourned to Aug. 8.

The charges against the 31- and 24-year-old women stem from an incident at about 11:30 p.m. Dec. 15 when police responded to a call from a resident who said an unattended child was crying inside a locked vehicle parked in the 200 block of 5 Street South in Lethbridge. Police said at the time the outside temperature was about -18 C and the vehicle was not running.

Police broke a window to get into the vehicle, and found a second young child under a pile of clothes. Both children, who were taken to hospital, did not sustain any serious or lasting injuries.

Police said two women were found in a nearby bar and arrested. Video surveillance shows the women had been in the bar for more than an hour.

The Crown is proceeding by summary conviction, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 18 months. The Crown had previously elected to proceed by indictment, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

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