Parents jailed for child neglect
Pair sentenced to one year in jail for failing to provide the necessaries of life for daughter
Amother and father whose daughter nearly died after they failed to get her medical attention for dental infections have been sent to jail for a year. The couple, who can’t be named under a courtordered publication ban, were sentenced Friday in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench, where Justice James Langston said that despite the couple’s tragic circumstances, their failure to care for their daughter demanded incarceration.
“There’s no reason or excuse for their conduct,” Langston said.
The Crown had asked that the couple be jailed for 12-18 months, while defence for the mother suggested house arrest for one year, and defence for the father asked for house arrest of 14-20 months, or seven to 10 months of actual jail.
The couple pleaded guilty in May of last year to a charge of failing to provide the necessaries of life, but sentencing was adjourned several times to complete various assessments and reports. A Gladue report in particular takes into account circumstances facing aboriginal people.
During the hearing in May, court was told the couple’s nine-year-old daughter was barely alive when she was taken to the hospital in the summer of 2013. She was unable to talk and could only make incomprehensible sounds. Her face was swollen, parts of her jawbone were exposed, and she was pale, dehydrated and suffering from overwhelming infection.
The young girl was resuscitated in the Cardston emergency room, then flown to the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary where the severely malnourished girl was intubated, placed on triple antibiotic therapy and given blood transfusions.
Dr. Jennifer MacPherson of the children’s hospital noted in her report that the girl’s problems did not occur suddenly, but over a period of many weeks or months, likely stemming from cavities in her mouth.
Court was told the couple couldn’t control the girl and she refused to let them wash her hair, which was infested with lice, or send her to a dentist when she complained about her sore mouth. They bought medicine for the pain instead.
When the child became “gravely” ill, an extended family member suggested the couple take her to the hospital.
The girl, Langston noted Friday, is living in a kinship home and is in good health, but she will still require more medical treatment and psychological therapy.
Langston described deplorable living conditions in which the parents tried to care for three children in a home that was “considered unfit for habitation.” Only one of two bedrooms was usable because the other was full of mould, and rent for the home was higher than the family’s income.
The 46-year-old mother, who grew up in a good family, left school in Grade 7 and later started taking drugs, particularly crack cocaine. The 56-year-old father was subject to domestic violence at home and abuse while attending residential school, and he began drinking when he was in Grade 5. He described his wife as a drug abuser and himself as an enabler.
Langston reviewed the principles of sentencing when it involves aboriginal offenders, and pointed out that aboriginals must be treated differently given their vastly different and unique circumstances. But in the end he said denouncing the offence and deterring the couple and others from committing similar offences is paramount and deserves a jail sentence.
In addition to their 12-month jail sentence, for which they were given credit for 55 days previously spent in custody, the parents will also be on probation for two years following their release. They must also take counselling and treatment in conjunction with the Kainai Peacemaking Program.
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