Woman kept toddler in messy house with insecure snake tank
There was also no evidence of sleeping arrangements for the child
AWOMAN kept a toddler in a messy house with an insecure snake tank. Lindsay McDonald, 40, was found by police at the property in Glasgow’s Drumchapel with the young child on October 18, 2020.
Medication, nails, screws and clothes were strewn over the hallway and a bedroom.
Two cots in the property also did not contain mattresses.
A snake tank in one of the bedrooms – with the reptile named Venom inside – was unlocked.
McDonald pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to wilfully neglecting and exposing the child in a manner likely to cause her unnecessary suffering or injury to her health. The court heard police officers raided the property after there was no response at 11.25pm.
McDonald and the girl were found within.
Prosecutor Lauren Aitchison told the court there was “immediate concern for the child’s safety”.
A search of the property then commenced.
Miss Aitchison said: “The hallway was in an unkempt state with screws and nails strewn throughout.
“Medication was observed to be on the floor and the bedrooms in the property were strewn with clothing.
“Items were broken and there were screws and nails on the floor of both bedrooms. In one of the bedrooms, there was a tank with a snake within which was insecure.
“There was no evidence of sleeping arrangements for the child.”
It was stated that the bed frame was broken and there were no mattresses on two cots. McDonald was put under arrest.
Brian Lannigan, defending, told the court that a man who was in the property escaped from a window before police arrived. The lawyer said: “There were workmen who were fitting laminate flooring at the property.
“The doors had been taken off and worktops were to be put in the kitchen.
“As a result, in the hallway, there were worktops leaning against the walls as well as the doors.
“There was a bed and two cots with a mattress also in the hallway.”
Mr Lannigan added that McDonald has “turned a corner” since the incident and is no longer with the man.
Sheriff Kevin McCarron tagged McDonald for three months keeping her indoors between 7pm and 7am.
The sheriff added: “What you have done so far is impressive but the offence is unsavoury and needs to be dealt with seriously by the court.”